INTERVIEW PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said it would be better for his party to dissolve than to join forces with Umno.

"I think if PAS join forces with Umno, that means we don't need to fight Umno any more.

"PAS people will ask, if we don't fight Umno, then who is there left to fight?

"If PAS befriends Umno, then we should dissolve," he said in a joint interview with Malaysiakini and Berita Daily .

Tuan Ibrahim, who is also Pahang PAS commissioner, was asked to respond to speculation that Umno and PAS are forging cooperation amid warming ties.

He insisted that PAS will continue to challenge Umno in every election.

"PAS' stance is still to fight Umno as it is in Kelantan where 80 to 90 percent of the seats PAS stands, is against Umno.

"The reality is we stand against Umno in every general election, PAS does not contest against MCA or MIC but against Umno and that is how it is to date," he said.

Tuan Ibrahim also dismissed that speculation that PAS and Umno is cooperating as part of the "Umno media agenda".

"We know that Umno is drowning and is hoping to rely on PAS. They have approached PAS on cooperation a number of times.

"PAS will not work with Umno as it is corrupt," he emphasised.

He added that PAS couldn't cooperate with a party which betrayed the people of Kelantan.

He pointed out examples such as the East Coast Highway being constructed up to Terengganu with PAS-led Kelantan excluded, denial of oil royalties to the state and some Kelantanese being excluded from BR1M assistance for being PAS supporters.

"It is impossible that we would cooperate with people like this," he stressed.

PAS needs Malay votes in Umno

He also downplayed PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's appearances alongside Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, stating that this did not mean PAS was being supportive of Umno.

"When the president attends Najib's functions, Hadi gives criticism, reminders and warnings (to Najib)," he said.

Furthermore, Tuan Ibrahim said Hadi would hold a meeting beforehand to see the views of the PAS leadership before meeting Najib.

However, Tuan Ibrahim expressed regret that the opposition had attacked PAS following mainstream reports about PAS and Umno's warming ties.

"Attacking PAS means not attacking Umno. By right, there is no need to attack PAS as we too are in the Opposition," he said.

Tuan Ibrahim said PAS need to capture the Malay votes, a part of which is within Umno.

"What kind of people in Umno will vote for PAS?

"They are those who hate Najib, those who care about the future, are rational and not emotional.

"These sort of Umno people will stand with the Opposition. Those who stand with Najib will not come to the Opposition," he said.

He said the failure to capture this vote in the past meant the opposition couldn't win Putrajaya.

"Therefore PAS needs to get them (Malay votes in Umno).

"Why we couldn't get Putrajaya? Because PAS' vote didn't go up, it didn't get (more) Malay votes," he said.