An aide of Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi posted this on Facebook: “Please answer this: If you people can work together with PKR and DAP, why can’t Umno? Just hearsay you people are jumping up and down. Please answer honestly.”

No names mentioned. The Umno president’s aide could probably be referring to PAS. I don’t know. But I, or rather all of us, know PAS had cooperated with PKR and DAP in the past, first under the Barisan Alternatif banner, then Pakatan Rakyat.

But his remarks came at a time when political and non-political folks are “excitedly” talking about the possibility of an Umno-Pakatan Harapan pact in facing GE15.

However, his boss is on record saying Umno will not be cooperating with PKR in the next general election, going on to say that neither he nor his deputy Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan had met PKR president to discuss the so-called electoral cooperation.

But, it was Anwar who announced a week or so ago at a press conference that there were discussions between the two parties. He wasn’t specific and did not name names, prompting Channel News Asia to comment “in what seems to be becoming a habit opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s hastily called press conference promised nuggets of new information and yielded but a whiff of gold dust”.

Why is Anwar fond of “leaking” such vital “information” without giving much “information” at all?

“It’s a gimmick, his style or political culture if you like,” says veteran political writer Mohd Sayuti Omar, stopping short of calling it “strategy”.

And Sayuti says talks between Anwar and Zahid or other senior leaders did not take place. However, he strongly believes the PKR leader or leaders who are “indirectly representatives” of Anwar, had met Zahid and “Najib was also briefed on the matter”.

Najib is, of course, former Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who still holds much influence in the party.

Sayuti also claims that an “individual” from a PH component “but not DAP” had met Zahid to explore some possibilities, but that “this is at an early stage”.

That apart, the reality is this. Umno’s decision to end cooperation with Bersatu as soon as parliament is dissolved to make way for GE15 will be endorsed at this weekend’s Umno General Assembly. This despite some disagreement or stiff opposition from pro-Bersatu forces in Umno said to be headed by Ketereh division chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

The question would be: what will Annuar do then? When his dream of seeing Umno continue to cooperate with Bersatu is shattered, quit the party and join Bersatu? He is after all a minister in the Perikatan Nasional government.

Or stay and make a bid for the Umno presidency when party elections are held, said to be later this year?. Observers, however, view his chances of winning as “very slim”.

As Sayuri sees it, the Umno-Bersatu tie is at its tail end and the problem now is PAS.

As we know, PAS is in Muafakat Nasional with Umno and Perikatan Nasional with Bersatu.

Of late, PAS is seen leaning more towards Bersatu led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

So much so that groups in Umno are fed up and have called PAS to choose between “us or Bersatu once and for all”.

This problem will surely be brought up at the general assembly although there is a possibility for now the leadership would not want to announce Umno’s next step openly.

Another big issue at the assembly is whether Umno will go alone in facing GE15, meaning contesting against PAS.

Umno has already said it would field its candidates against Bersatu, in particular, to take back the seats it won in GE14 but lost when their winning candidates defected to Bersatu.

“If PAS is adamant in sticking with Bersatu, it’s not impossible for Umno to accept any offers made by PH, in particular PKR,” says Sayuti.

Well in politics everything is possible right? And take a look at what Zahid said when he dismissed cooperation with PKR for GE15.

He was quoted as saying, “For now there is no cooperation, not with PKR, not with DAP, not with Pakatan Harapan”, but post-GE15 “anything is possible”.

Politics is indeed the art of the possible.

(Mohsin Abdullah is a veteran journalist and now a freelancer who writes about this, that and everything else.)