PUTRAJAYA: PAS remains steadfast in the Perikatan Nasional coalition, says PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin.
The Bersatu president said he was told of PAS’ stand by the party’s president, Abdul Hadi Awang, and secretary-general, Takiyuddin Hassan, at a meeting during Hari Raya.
Asked about reports that PAS appeared to prefer being with Umno rather than Bersatu, Muhyiddin said the party was free to do as it liked.
He said he would not prevent any PN component party from taking strategic steps in facing the upcoming general election (GE15).
“At the end of the day, we will sit together to discuss what is best for PN and for the nation,” he said in a press conference after chairing a National Recovery Council meeting today.
Yesterday, PAS vice-president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said Muslim unity, and not political survival, was the reason why PAS continued to defend its ties with Umno via Muafakat Nasional (MN).
Samsuri, who is also the Terengganu menteri besar, said PAS saw the “bigger picture” of Muslim unity and would continue to hold talks with Umno to ensure that their cooperation continued.
Takiyuddin said yesterday MN remained the best formula to unite the Muslim ummah.
However, Muhyiddin said it was not clear if PAS’ efforts would work when Umno’s own president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, had seemed to have closed the door on its MN partner.
Two weeks ago, Zahid called PAS “two-faced” and disloyal, as he again dismissed the possibility of working with the party in GE15 as partners under MN.
Umno and PAS leaders have been at odds for a year over the future of the MN alliance, which was formed in 2019 by the two major Malay-Muslim parties to challenge Pakatan Harapan, which was in power at the time.
However, Zahid and Hadi later disagreed about whether to accept Bersatu into the alliance.
Zahid has often spoken against reviving the alliance, while PAS leaders have tried to keep MN alive. - FMT
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