Nazri Abdul Aziz now believes that Umno and PAS should work together, an alliance which has proven successful in the previous two by-elections based on the narrative that Pakatan Harapan has failed to safeguard the interests of the Malays and Islam.
In the past, the BN secretary-general said he was opposed to this collaboration because the coalition was multi-ethnic.
"I have changed my mind. I have repented and I (now) fully support Umno's cooperation with PAS.
"I apologise to all Malays, be it PAS members or not, for stating in the past that (Umno) should not work with PAS because BN represents all ethnic groups," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today.
In 2016, Nazri was reported as stating he was against an Umno-PAS alliance because BN would cease to be a coalition which represented all races.
Since the last general election, the once impregnable BN has witnessed its membership dwindle to three parties from the original 13.
At present, only MCA and MIC remain in the coalition formed in 1973. Both of them are considered politically insignificant with a single parliament seat each.
Umno and PAS have 38 and 18 parliament seats respectively.
Yesterday, the two parties moved a step closer towards a formal pact by holding their inaugural joint technical meeting.
The two parties intend to meet regularly to plan strategies, especially for by-elections.
It remains uncertain if lawmakers from both parties would be allowed to cross the floor in states under their control - Perlis, Pahang, Kelantan and Terengganu.
Meanwhile, Nazri said that he hoped Umno and PAS' relationship would last at least until the next general election.
He claimed that PAS was good at protecting minority rights.
"I am confident of this because PAS has ruled Kelantan for 25 years. I've never seen non-Muslims leaving the state," he added. - Mkini
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