KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 8 — PAS told the Perikatan Nasional its negotiations with Umno were informal and did not involve the party leadership, coalition chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today.

He said the Islamist party gave this explanation during a meeting of the coalition’s supreme council last night.

“Whatever discussions that took place were unofficial without the involvement of the party’s leaders. There has also been no progress from these talks as Umno has already made it clear that they do not want to work with PAS at GE15.

“PAS also reiterated its stand of improving ties with parties within PN,” Muhyiddin said in a statement today.

Yesterday, Muhyiddin said he would ask PAS to clarify its party leaders’ insistence during its 68th Muktamar that there were negotiations with Umno.

PAS is part of the PN coalition formed in early 2020 with Bersatu — a splinter of Umno following the sacking of Muhyiddin in 2015 — and three other multiracial parties.

At the same time, PAS is in a political alliance with Umno called Muafakat Nasional (MN), formed in 2019 after both parties were defeated in the 14th general election.

PAS had attempted to include Bersatu in MN, but talks flatlined after Muhyiddin stepped down as prime minister last year.

Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi recently rejected any possibility of an election alliance with PAS through MN.

In turn, PAS leaders including its president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang insisted that Umno members still wanted to work with the Islamists. - malaymail