Umno wants freedom to rebuild before GE16 pacts, say analysts

An early binding pact would place Umno at risk of being trapped in a seat allocation that undersells its actual strength, and could entrench a “political dependency” on its allies rather than forcing the party to rebuild its Malay support base, said Awang Azman Pawi, a professor at Universiti Malaya.

“Umno’s long-term strategy must be to regain its stand-alone electoral value, so that other parties would want to collaborate with Umno because it is strong, not because it has no choice but to collaborate,” he told FMT.

…