Muafakat Nasional a marriage of convenience, says Umno leader

 

An Umno leader said PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang was merely using an election campaign ploy by claiming that PAS was open to working with Umno. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: An Umno leader has admitted that Muafakat Nasional (MN), the pact that Umno forged with PAS in 2019, was “merely a marriage of convenience”.

The high-ranking party insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also said the Islamic party had been “in bed” with PKR and DAP (in Pakatan Harapan) and with Bersatu (in Perikatan Nasional).

“But in view of the current political climate, I think PAS would surely want to tag along with Umno for its survival,” the source told FMT.

The source was responding to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s claim that the party had never closed its doors to working with Umno despite their differences.

Hadi had also reportedly said that nothing was impossible when it came to politics, noting that the two parties had joined forces after Merdeka.

The source however played down Hadi’s recent comments, saying it was merely a “campaign ploy”.

He said any talks with PAS should be held after the Johor elections on March 12, and said PAS has “no other narrative save for this desperate attempt to create an issue out of MN”.

Umno and PAS, the two largest Malay-based parties, formed an alliance in September 2019 as an electoral understanding with the main aim of uniting the Malay-Muslim vote.

However, ties between the two parties grew strained after PAS became a component of Perikatan Nasional, which was then in power led by then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

Umno, which was at odds with Bersatu, subsequently decided to retract support for Muhyiddin, leading to a change in government, while PAS later decided to contest under the PN banner in the Melaka and Sarawak elections.

In November, Hadi rejected the MN pact, describing it as akin to being “shackled”. - FMT