Former minister Zainuddin Maidin has raised the possibility of a pact between Umno and PAS in the next general election.

This was after PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang declared that while he was against Umno as a party, PAS wants to be on good terms with the people in Umno.

Hadi had said this in refusing to participate in a gathering of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's opponents on March 27 that is expected to bring the opposition and Umno rebels together.

"PAS will not join the March 27 gathering to oust Najib. Without PAS, it will not be effective.

"Is there the possibility of an election pact (between PAS and Umno)?" Zainuddin said in a Twitter posting today.

The gathering is expected to touch on Najib's position as the prime minister consolidates his power amid corruption allegations.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had investigated the deposits of RM42 million from state-owned SRC International and RM2.6 billion from an offshore account into Najib's personal bank accounts.

Najib had denied wrongdoing and ttorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali also cleared the prime minister of any offences but the MACC is appealing the decision not to prosecute.

Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor today also said his party welcomed Abdul Hadi's friendly gesture.