Kuala Lampur, July 31 -- Politics often produces unlikely partnerships. Parties that once regarded each other as bitter rivals can become tactical collaborators when electoral necessity outweighs ideological consistency. Such is the case with the growing electoral accommodation between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN), particularly where PAS has become the dominant force within the latter.

The immediate objective is understandable. Umno hopes to consolidate the Malay vote. MCA and MIC hope that a stronger BN can preserve their own political relevance. PAS hopes to extend its influence beyond its traditional strongholds by working with a weakened but still organisationally extensive Umno.

Yet this strategy contains profo...