Umno vice-president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is hoping the party can work out a mutual arrangement with PAS.

Asked to comment on claims that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang is open to cooperating with Umno, the deputy prime minister said he is praying this is the case.

"If that is the interpretation, then we pray that it is so, in a united voice for the sake of the ummah (community)," he told a press conference at the Putra World Trade Centre today.

Fellow vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein, however, said Umno has to take care of itself first.

"President Najib Abdul Razak has reminded us that before we move towards (working with PAS) we have to get our own house in order," he added.

Earlier in his speech, Najib extended an olive branch to PAS, saying he was happy it was kicked out of Pakatan.

"With an open heart and free spirit, we offer the ties and bonds of a relationship towards the ideal of building a Malaysia based on Islamic doctrine," he said in his policy speech.

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