Zahid skips PAS muktamar, sec-gen leads Umno delegation

 PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan says the Umno president could not make it due to 'unavoidable matters'.

Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki led the delegation of party leaders, which remains noteworthy as the last time Umno attended PAS’s annual meeting was in 2019.

KOTA BHARU:

Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was absent from the opening of PAS’s 72nd muktamar today, despite initially being expected to lead the Umno delegation.

In a speech during the opening, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said Zahid could not make it due to “unavoidable reasons”.

Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki led the group of leaders instead, which remains noteworthy as the last time Umno leaders attended PAS’s annual meeting was in 2019.

At the time, Umno and PAS were allies under the now-defunct Muafakat Nasional pact.

Asyraf was joined by Kelantan Umno chief Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub and Supreme Council member Alwi Che Ahmad, among others, at Pusat Tarbiah Islamiah Kelantan in Pengkalan Chepa, here.

“The presence of Umno representatives today is a historic moment in the national political landscape as we work towards uniting the ummah,” said Takiyuddin, the Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary-general.

“To the Umno leadership and delegation, thank you.”

The muktamar was also attended by key PN leaders, including opposition leader and Wawasan president Hamzah Zainudin, Pejuang president Mukhriz Mahathir, Gerakan president Dominic Lau and Malaysian Indian People’s Party secretary-general N Sathes Kumar.

Takiyuddin previously said Umno leaders were invited to the muktamar this year because the party viewed Umno as a strategic partner.

This follows the handsome victory won by the BN-PN alliance in the Negeri Sembilan election. PAS currently chairs PN. - FMT