What is in a name? A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet, said Shakespeare, but if you ask Semangat 46, they would probably say that the Bard was wrong.
Following the 1987 Umno leadership crisis that led to Umno being outlawed, Tengku Razaleigh tried to revive it by registering a new party named "UMNO Malaysia" or "UMNO 46". However, it was Mahathir that managed to register a new party using the name "UMNO Baru", while Tengku Razaleigh was forced to call his party Semangat 46.
That Mahathir was the one who ended up carrying the name Umno is likely one of the reasons why the party that he registered inherited Umno's legacy and continued to thrive. Semangat 46, on the other hand, gradually declined and was finally dissolved in 1996, after which Razaleigh and many of its key members rejoined the UMNO that Mahathir created.
A name is an important part of our identity. If our name changes, the natural assumption will be that there has been a major change in our identity.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) was created six years ago for the purpose of uniting the Malays. Although it widened its scope to include non-Malay parties such as MIPP and Gerakan, the fact remains that PN is widely associated with the desire to unite the Malays.
Two three days ago, PAS announced that its ties with Bersatu had ended.
Although PAS has said that it is intent on forming a new political pact to face the upcoming state elections and the next general election (GE16), it might still desire to do so using the name PN instead of forming a brand new coalition.
That after Hadi announced that PAS's relationship with Bersatu is over, PAS central committee member Shahidan Kassim pointed out that party president Abdul Hadi Awang's statement on the decision did not touch on PN at all while insisting that PAS still remains a part of PN is revealing. It indicates that while PAS has broken up with Bersatu, it is still desirous of owning the PN brand.
That immediately after the break-up, Bersatu Supreme Council member Dr Afif Bahardin called for party president Muhyiddin Yassin to be reinstated as chairman of Perikatan Nasional (PN) is also revealing. It suggests that Bersatu is likely desirous of keeping the name PN too.
Since the name PN is associated with the aim of uniting the Malays, the party that does not get to keep the name will be associated with not being sincere about wanting to unite the Malays.
In other words, if Bersatu is the one that ends up keeping the name PN, then PAS will be associated with caring more about its political interests than the unity of the Malays for leaving PN. The same will be true for Bersatu if the positions are reversed.
The party that does not get to keep the name PN, or in other words, the party that is seen to care more about its own interests than the interests of the Malays, will then be burdened with having to defend itself to to the voters.
The party that keeps the name PN, on the other hand, will not only not need to defend itself, it might even be able to claim that it is willing to make tough decisions, even at the cost of its own interests, in order to fight for the rights of and advance the interests of the Malays.
Regardless of who gets to keep the name PN, Bersatu and PAS will both likely still be a part of a PN-like coalition in the future, or a coalition that is headed by a dominant Malay party with the support of considerably smaller non-Malay parties. If both of them end up being part of a similar coalition, the one that carries the name PN will be viewed as the real deal, while the other one will be seen as a cheap knock-off. Neither of the two estranged parties will want to be seen as a knock-off.
Keeping the PN brand is also likely the only thing that can keep Bersatu afloat. Bersatu is in very bad shape — it is at a point where its continued existence is in doubt. If it is to survive in the future, it must hold on to the PN brand to stay afloat. Considering that, we must expect Bersatu to fight tooth and nail to keep the name PN.
Although the PAS brand is strong enough to stand on its own, the PAS brand is not strong enough to win a general election. To stand a chance of winning a general election, PAS also needs the PN brand name.
So how will it be finally decided as to who gets to keep the name PN?
I believe that ultimately, it will be decided by the majority decision of its founding members.
PN was founded by four parties — PAS, Bersatu, MIPP and Gerakan.
According to Perikatan Nasional (PN) information chief Annuar Musa, a meeting involving PAS, Gerakan and the Malaysian Indian People's Party (MIPP) is already in the works and would convene "as soon as possible".
"Discussions are expected to take place this week," he said in a Facebook post.
Although Bersatu is widely seen as the main founder of Perikatan Nasional, if both MIPP and Gerakan are willing to throw their lot in with PAS, then it will be incumbent on Bersatu to relinquish its claim to the PN brand.
MIPP and Gerakan are also more likely to stick with PAS rather than Bersatu, simply because it is only with PAS that they have a chance of winning.
While the fact that PAS is a dominant conservative Islamic party makes the Indian-based MIPP and Chinese-based Gerakan's association with it difficult, the inclusion of ousted Bersatu leader Hamzah Zainuddin and his new political party into a post-Bersatu PN era could balance the mix.
Hamzah Zainuddin is set to announce his new political party in two days, on June 13, and he and his new party are expected to form an alliance with PAS.
Considering everything, I think the odds are in favour of PAS retaining the name PN.
Bersatu will not give it up easily, but considering that it is weak and will likely not have anyone standing with it, it will likely be forced to relinquish the PN brand name to PAS, even if it is one of the original founders of PN.
It might decide to make it difficult for PAS, out of a desire to survive or perhaps out of spite, but when push comes to shove, I believe it will be PAS that will be the one to own the brand PN.
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