Revive Umno-PAS alliance under Muafakat banner, urges Annuar

 The former Umno leader says Malay-Muslim unity is a simple matter that does not need to be made complicated.

Annuar Musa’s remarks come amid a debate over Umno’s Rumah Bangsa initiative, aimed at bringing together political parties to discuss issues concerning the Malays, Bumiputeras and Islam.

PETALING JAYA:

 Senior PAS leader Annuar Musa has urged Umno and PAS to revive their alliance under the Muafakat Nasional (MN) banner, saying that Malay-Muslim unity is a simple matter that can be achieved without any other political arrangements, including Umno’s Rumah Bangsa initiative.

The former Umno veteran, who joined PAS in June 2023, said the two parties should first meet to identify areas of agreement.

“The issue of the ummah’s unity is straightforward. There is no need to complicate it with all sorts of ideas. All of that is a formula for failure,” he said.

Claiming that the majority of Malays were already aligned with PAS and Perikatan Nasional (PN), Annuar said PAS still sought broader unity with Umno, but without DAP and PKR.

“PAS wants a political axis with Umno and PAS at its centre, not Umno-DAP-PKR. That’s all. No need for polemics or this house or that.

“All we need is for a Malay-Muslim muafakat (consensus) to come first. Other parties (that are not extreme) will not be sidelined,” he said.

His remarks come amid a debate over Umno’s Rumah Bangsa initiative, aimed at bringing together political parties to discuss issues concerning the Malays, Bumiputeras and Islam.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang rejected the initiative earlier today, saying it was based on nationalism rather than Islam.

MN was a short-lived political alliance formed by PAS and Umno in September 2019 to consolidate the Malay-Muslim vote.

However, PAS decided to work with Bersatu to form PN following the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government and the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister in 2020, which Umno viewed as a betrayal.

PAS also insisted on roping Bersatu into MN, which Umno opposed. The pact eventually ended in December 2022 with Umno going on to back PKR president Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister. - FMT