“Umno, PAS and other parties outside the government still differ over leadership, ideology, seat allocations and their respective roles within any future government. Asrul said election pacts will matter less compared with post-election alliances, with dealmaking to be the buttress of such cooperation. Umno and PAS previously had their Muafakat Nasional pact, which ended after the Islamic party formed PN with Bersatu in 2020. On the other hand, PAS used to be allies with PH components PKR and DAP under the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, from 2008 to 2015. He said Malaysia’s political arena had become a three-horse competition among BN, PN and PH, but PH has seen diminishing support recently.