Kuala Lampur, Aug. 18 -- The attempt to combine the electoral strength of PAS with that of Umno should not automatically be celebrated as the emergence of Malay-Muslim unity in Malaysia.

At most, it represents an exercise in electoral arithmetic. At worst, it risks reducing the profound meaning of Muslim solidarity to the mechanical accumulation of votes and seats.

There is an important difference between winning elections and strengthening a nation.

PAS may believe that by combining its electoral numbers with Umno, particularly in constituencies where Malay-Muslim voters constitute the overwhelming majority, the two political forces can minimise three-cornered contests and exploit Malaysia's first-past-the-post electoral system.

Math...