KUALA LUMPUR – PAS has a plan B if the proposed cooperation with Umno does not materialise or is unsuccessful, said PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
However, he did not elaborate further about the backup plan.
He said for the time being, PAS was still trying to resolve minor issues with Umno, which had formed a political alliance with the Islamist party under the umbrella of Muafakat Nasional (MN).
Tuan Ibrahim said, to him, MN is an important platform, not just for politics but for Muslims in Malaysia.
“It we look at sensitivity, PAS is more sensitive towards Umno… we will work on resolving it first, if we succeed we will continue but if it fails, we have plan B,” he told reporters when met at the Parliament building, here today.
As for the three conditions set by Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for PAS to fulfill if the political cooperation was to materialise in order to face the 15th general election, Tuan Ibrahim said the conditions were not spelled out in Umno’s official statement.
“Therefore I feel the three conditions must have been spelled out in the official statement. The official statement did not include any conditions,” he said.
Media reports had claimed Zahid had set three conditions to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang: exit Perikatan Nasional (PN), severe political ties with Bersatu, and openly declare that the party has severed ties with PN and Bersatu.
Tuan Ibrahim said, however, PAS welcomed Umno’s preparedness to unite the “ummah”, but several conditions set must be scrutinised first and he believed the party would carry out the necessary efforts.
Earlier, PAS vice-president Datuk Idris Ahmad was reported as saying that the party would convene a meeting this Saturday, among others, to discuss issues related to the party’s stand on political cooperation with other political parties. – Bernama, October 6, 2022
