PAS, Umno out to ensure no collisions with Bersatu at next polls

Umno and PAS today said they would work towards ensuring zero collisions between them and Bersatu in the next election, despite the recent fallout between Umno and Bersatu.

The decision was reached following a meeting of top leaders from the two parties to discuss the future of Muafakat Nasional, the charter signed by Umno and PAS in 2019.

Speaking to reporters, PAS information chief Kamaruzaman Mohamad said the meeting had focused on strengthening ties between the two parties.

“We are working towards ensuring no three-cornered fights,” he said.

The meeting of Muafakat Nasional’s consultative committee tonight was co-chaired by Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan and his PAS counterpart, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

It was held as tensions between the two largest Malay-based parties in the country threatened to resurface, following calls by Umno leaders on PAS to quit the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

A group of Umno leaders led by party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak has been urging PAS to renounce its support for Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, reminding the Islamist party that it is bound by Muafakat Nasional, a charter of cooperation formally ending the two parties’ decades-old rivalry.

The calls followed the Umno Supreme Council’s decision not to cooperate with Muhyiddin’s Bersatu in the impending 15th general election.

PAS has repeatedly stated its commitment to Muhyiddin’s government, and has welcomed Bersatu to become a third member of Muafakat Nasional.

The party recently stated that it was prepared to mediate between Umno and Bersatu, an offer scoffed at by Umno’s election director Tajuddin Abdul Rahman who warned PAS to stay out of the matter.

Tajuddin is among a group of Umno leaders who claim that Muhyiddin had shortchanged the former ruling party by not giving it key posts in the government.