PKR said today that it is of the opinion that PAS should be in the new opposition coalition.

"Yes, the president (Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) has made it very clear, crystal clear," said Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali at a press conference in Rawang today.

Azmin had previously stated that his party wanted to continue cooperating with PAS in the new opposition coalition and it seems that the party is standing firmly on the matter.

The Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyperson was asked on Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's statement that it was untenable for PAS to be in the new coalition as its president, Abdul Hadi Awang, had announced that PAS would field candidates in all DAP-dominant seats.

Azmin ( photo ), however, believes that this was merely Lim's personal view on the matter.

"That is his view and it is up to the DAP.

"What I have stated previously was not my stand but PKR's. It's not my personal stand or Wan Azizah's.

"We have discussed it thoroughly and have included the view of PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar stated that PKR should always be inclusive," he said.

Yesterday, Lim ( photo ) rejected the idea of PAS becoming a partner in the new opposition pact together with PKR and Parti Amanah Negara.

"It becomes completely untenable for DAP to be part of any coalition with PAS, since it has made such an announcement to contest against the DAP," Lim had said.

DAP and PAS parted ways in June after PAS decided to sever ties with DAP for its rejection of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's move to table a private member's bill on hudud in Parliament.

Aim to save the country

Meanwhile, Azmin added that PKR has accepted any party which was firm on views and policies that prioritise change and total reform.

"(This is especially since) we are a party that was given the mandate by the rakyat to be responsible to save the country and the country's economy by including all quarters.

"We must have humility to accept the views of many quarters which have the same aim, that is PKR's stand," he said.

He added that there was also a need to "tie" all the political parties with a clearer aim in order to save the country.

Asked whether he did not discount a scenario of the new opposition coalition consisting of four parties, Azmin said: "I don't know.

"Because that will be based on discussions. We will always be based on consensus and not on a particular individual's decision," he said.

Apart from DAP which has made it clear that it rejected PAS' inclusion in the new coalition, Parti Amanah Negara - made up of former PAS leaders - had also stated its rejection of PAS.

Founding member Mohamed Hanipa Maidin ( photo ) had said that based on their experience being a splinter group of PAS, the Islamist party had no sincere appreciation for the political cooperation with both the DAP and PKR.

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