In Malaysia, a wide spectrum of opposition parties exists. Their ideological orientations and membership are almost as varied as the country's population, ranging from the ideological left to the religious right. Some are mono-ethnic, while others admit people of all creed and colour. In the previous elections, these parties had gone their own way, competing with each other as much as they challenged the government. In the 1990 election, the scenario changed, under the initiative and leadership of Semangat '46. Though the opposition parties could not form a single coalition like the Barisan, they were able to forge an electoral alliance with two fronts against the ruling coalition.

Forging the Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah

Semangat '46 and PAS first worked out an alliance with two other minor Malaybased parties which were localized in Kelantan – Hamin and Berjasa. Both were members of the Barisan until they crossed over to join the new Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU). Despite the fact that Semangat '46 was secular in orientation, almost in the image of the old UMNO, and that the ideological objective of PAS was the establishment of an Islamic state, the leaders of the two parties saw the neccessity to work together. On both sides, it must have been quite a change. Razaleigh had spent all his previous political life in UMNO fighting against PAS and it was he who was directly responsible for bringing down the PAS government in 1978. However, a united front of the two former adversaries was politically expedient for several reasons.

Firstly, an alliance could avoid splitting the votes of the opposition in the general election since both parties would actually be seeking support from the same sector – the anti-establishment voters. This was quite logical as a split this time would have far greater negative effects. Both parties would be aiming for the Malay voters who would be casting their ballots against UMNO Baru.