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Hadi: PAS members understand need for ties with Umno
Published:  Sep 12, 2018 12:25 PM
Updated: 5:32 AM

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has expressed confidence that party members understand why the party is engaging in strategic cooperation with Umno.

He said PAS members were loyal to their leaders and understood that the cooperation with Umno during the recent Sungai Kandis and Seri Setia by-elections was for public good.

"The majority in PAS follow their leader. We will cooperate on good things and not the bad. There is no coalition for now. What the future holds we don't know because our plans are for Islam “berkuasa” (Islamic rule).

"Anyone who can facilitate that, we will react positively," Hadi told reporters in Kuala Terengganu yesterday, according to Utusan Malaysia.

The daily also quoted Wanita Umno chief Noraini Ahmad (photo) as stating that both Umno and PAS must convince their members that the cooperation between the two parties was good for Malays, Islam and the country.

"We admit there are some grassroots who still have doubts on the cooperation between PAS and Umno. It is not easy to convince everyone in a short period, especially since both parties have been rivals for 60 years," she said.

However, PAS' ability to double its vote count during the Seri Setia by-election to 9,698 reflected the collective demands of supporters from both parties, she said.

Annual meetings

Following the May 9 general election, Umno, now in the federal opposition, has been repeatedly extending overtures to PAS for a political alliance.

The first sign of this manifested during the Sungai Kandis by-election on Aug 4, when some PAS leaders campaigned for the Umno candidate.

Following this, a sizeable number of Umno leaders campaigned for PAS in return during the Seri Setia by-election on Sept 8.

Both parties appear to be committed to sending representatives to each other's annual national delegates meeting. PAS' meeting will begin tomorrow, while Umno's assembly will be held on Sept 29.

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