Is traditionally to be regarded as “above suspicion” That is not a category to which any UMNO executive can aspire. So it is worrying to find a former head of the Election Commission urging PAS to form an alliance with a “larger party” That can only be code for UMNO since no other political party in Malaysia will give extremist PAS even the time of day.

That fact cannot be unknown to the former election supremo or can he have forgotten the conventions requiring impartiality and aloofness from politics required by a head of the Election Commission.

Certainly he no longer holds that post but he retains a duty to maintain if not the actual integrity of the EC, at least a pretence of it. For a former EC chairman to involve himself so publicly is suspicious as to motive.

PAS has indicated that it would rather ally itself with a dead dog than get back into bed with UMNO. It is not clear if that is because its management do not want to be associated with a mega thief like Najib despite his promises to introduce Shariah law in all Malaysia. Presumably they, with reason, place as little trust in a Najib promise as they would one from any other mega lar and mega thief; both categories condemned by Islam.

Or maybe with equal reason they are aware that BN will be trounced in GE14 and do not want to be identified with a criminal loser. Perhaps party titan Hadi will explain?