It’s PAS who will backstab its friends, says Puad

 

Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi said PAS had previously abandoned Semangat 46 and the now defunct opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat.

PETALNG JAYA: Puad Zarkashi has hit back at the PAS deputy president for claiming that Umno would betray its allies should it become more powerful.

The Umno Supreme Council member said Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s accusation was an act of cutting off one’s nose off to spite one’s face.

Puad said it was PAS who loved to backstab its friends as the Islamic party yearned to be the dominant power in any coalition it was in.

And this desire to become a dominant force was why PAS had a bad track record, he said, citing the time the party abandoned Semangat 46 and the now defunct opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat.

“They once signed the Muafakat Nasional (MN) charter with Umno, yet at the same time joined Perikatan Nasional (PN). So who backstabbed who?” he said in a statement.

Umno and PAS formed MN, an electoral alliance, in 2019 to woo the Malay-Muslim electorate.

PN, meanwhile, was led by Bersatu – a party which Umno eventually severed ties with ahead of the last general election.

“This is why PAS cannot be made an ally. There will come a time when PAS will stab Bersatu and Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the back,” he said, referring to the former prime minister who recently shared a stage with PAS leaders.

On Monday night, Tuan Ibrahim warned that Umno would turn against its friends if it obtained more power.

He cited instances when Umno withdrew support for Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin when he was the prime minister, and for Bersatu deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu when he was Perak menteri besar. - FMT