Former information minister Zainuddin Maidin said solidarity between Umno and PAS will not ensure the strength of the nation.

He said the three principal partners of the Barisan Nasional (BN) namely Umno, MCA and MIC should instead firmly and boldly restore their inherent strength through a new approach that will guarantee a bright future for the country.

azlan "Umno should just forget the Malay unity through PAS which was based on racial and dogmatic religious lines and instead work together with its original partners in the BN to reject their respective racial sentiments," he said in an interview with umno-online.com.

Zainuddin, who is better known as Zam, said Umno, MCA, MIC and the other component parties should continue with the constructive engagement while sensitive issues should not be discussed openly because they would not restore party strength.

"On the other hand, they will widen the feeling of dissatisfaction when a demand cannot be met by the government immediately or if there is an obstacle," he said.

The former minister said the BN should also reflect the separation of identity from the groups who were out to look for strength through racial and religious sentiments which were outside the social formula and values which were built by the Alliance since the pre-independence days.

He said Umno and BN must be bold and firm in balancing their realistic wishes and not get carried away and be obsessed by the new democratisation to the extent that the threat from the real enemy was forgotten.

– Bernama