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Pas leaders in Selangor objected to alcohol being served to the crowd at the stadium, which is located in the capital of Selangor.

The state government, ruled by the trio of Pakatan Rakyat parties, called for a halt in alcohol sales for the game.

That give-and-take caused some tension between Pas and its other partners in Pakatan Rakyat.

This is because it was a non-issue for the Chinese-led DAP and multiracial Parti Keadilan Rakyat, but a major issue for the Islamic party.

“We want them to give more respect to Pas as a full member. We do not want people to say that even if we were to leave, no one would miss us,” said Zulkifli Ahmad, a Pas Youth leader from Selangor.

In Perak, although the menteri besar is a Pas leader, many people believe that the real power is actually held by the Ngeh-Nga cousins from the DAP. This is because the DAP holds the most number of seats in Perak.

The Ngeh-Nga cousins are Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham, DAP's head in Perak, and Nga Kor Ming, chief of DAP's Youth wing.

In Penang, another state ruled by Pakatan, Pas again plays a minority role.

The DAP and PKR hold all the top government posts and even those in grassroots organisations such as village headmen.

All these slights have created angst among the Pas grassroots over the usefulness of staying in the coalition.

The problems are caused by the coming together of three opposition parties with three different ideologies.

Pas wants to turn Malaysia into its version of an Islamic state; the DAP wants a level playing field for all Malaysians; while PKR is seen as being willing to give non-Muslims more access to their demands for equality while retaining parts of the pro-Malay policies.

But, make no mistake about it. There are real tensions between the three Pakatan partners.

But these are unlikely to cause a break-up of the four-month-old pact, as each party realises that it would be much weakened alone.

If Pas were to pull out, the state governments of Selangor and Perak would collapse right away.

Tian Chua, PKR's information chief, explains the give-and-take necessary to keep the alliance going.

“I don't think anybody can get everything in Pakatan. We negotiate and get the optimum for everyone and move the country forward,” he said.

Most of the hard work keeping the three glued together are done behind the scenes.

Just last week, for example, Penang's Pas leaders were called to the party's central headquarters in Kuala Lumpur amid talk of deep unhappiness that the Islamic party is being sidelined in the state.

After briefing the top leaders, Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang made an unscheduled visit to Penang and assured leaders there that the party would withdraw from Pakatan rather than give up its Islamic struggle.

Some of the issues that cropped up may seem petty to the casual observer, like the serving of beer at a stadium. Others are over major policy matters like whether the traditional dominance of Malays and Islam would be uprooted in the five Pakatan states.

Not everyone, though, is negative about the future of Pakatan even within the Pas itself.

“The Pakatan cooperation just needs fine-tuning like drawing up a charter and finding a way to resolve issues, because other than that we are all quite firmed up,” said Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, director of the Pas Research Centre.

Expect the push-and-shove among the partners to continue, but the cracks are not beyond repair.