Zahid: PAS' own fault that Umno decided to go solo

 

Umno has decided to go solo in the upcoming general election as PAS has its “fingers in too many pies”, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said.

The Umno president said this in a statement today, in response to an earlier remark by PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man that the Islamist party has never declared the dissolution of the Muafakat Nasional political coalition.

Recalling the formation of the coalition, Zahid said it was formed out of the “pressing need” of the country’s two largest political parties following the defeat of the ruling coalition in the last general election.

“The people were also losing faith in the Pakatan Harapan government, and the future looked bleak. That is why Muafakat Nasional was formed to lead the country back on the right path.

“The Umno-PAS cooperation was supposed to be the best entity to lead the country into the future, as votes for both the party stood at almost 50 percent, way above that of Harapan,” said Zahid, adding that the public allegedly grew tired of the unfulfilled promises by Harapan leaders.

‘Muafakat was like the American Dream’

Zahid stressed Muafakat was also not mere “political rhetoric”, but rather an idealism akin to the “American Dream”.

He further accused PAS of “tearing apart” the trust that Muafakat was built upon when the Islamist party chose to join hands with Bersatu under the Perikatan Nasional coalition.

“How can stability, confidence, and strong cooperation be built when the basic principles of trust are neglected? More so with a party bent on destroying Umno.

“From what I see, PAS’ political contribution in Muafakat was a shallow one that did not have the people’s interests in mind.

“Now, Umno needs to move forward, and the party has decided to go solo due to PAS’ own actions. There’s no shame in saying that PAS is playing it safe by dipping its fingers into too many pies. That’s the political reality we are facing today,” said Zahid. - Mkini