PAS is unlikely to work together with the new political coalition mooted by former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, said Selangor Umno chief Noh Omar.

Without naming names, he said this is because there are leaders in the coalition who do not respect the federal constitution and Islam.

“If every party has a raison d'etre like PAS, I think it’s condition (for joining the coalition) is that it must respect Islam.

“Since there are already leaders in the opposition coalition who do not respect Islam’s sovereignty and our constitution, then I don’t think a principled party would join a party that doesn’t share such a position,” he told a press conference in Shah Alam today.

Mahathir had confirmed on Thursday that a new party is in the works, while a statement from PAS’ deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had sparked renewed interest in a ceasefire amongst opposition parties in order to focus on BN.

However, PAS mouthpiece Harakah quoted its president Abdul Hadi Awang saying the following day that the Islamist party is in no hurry to join.

“I have to study the proposal first. I see that from the very beginning, things seem chaotic. PAS will not board a chaotic ship, especially when we will find ourselves working together with parties that are against our cause, against Islam,” he said.

“Our stance is that we will keep within our party’s limits. We will not be rushed and we will discuss in detail.

“PAS has its political committee, central committee, and syura council. The central committee will look into it as a whole, the political committee will look into it from a strategic perspective, and the syura council will look into it in terms of the limits in Islam,” he said.