Umno will remain single and will not merge with any other party to stay afloat, said its secretary-general.

In a tweet, Annuar Musa said: "I hope outsiders, including PAS, will no longer resort to empty talk about merging with Umno [...] Umno has not decided to merge with any party.

“Umno will continue to strengthen itself as a party with integrity and cooperate only where necessary," he said.

Annuar's stand comes after PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said last Sunday that the Islamist party's merger with Umno will not be easy as the latter was "sinking".

"Umno is currently a sinking ship. When we go to sea, if we approach a sinking ship, we may also sink with them.

"Merging with a party that has a leak (as a ship) is difficult and cumbersome," Hadi was reported as saying at a dialogue in Dublin, Ireland.

On Dec 19, meanwhile, PAS vice-president Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said that Umno has no political future and thus, the party should be dissolved and its members join PAS.

Umno and PAS became informal allies following the aftermath of the 14th general election.

However, both parties insist that their cooperation is only on issues pertaining to Malays and Islam and both have repeatedly ruled out a merger.