PAS would work with anyone for power - Ku Li

PAS would work with any party as long as they attain power, said Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Razaleigh claimed that PAS’ intention is clear for all to see, with the Islamist party planning to revive the Muafakat Nasional pact with Umno.

“PAS would never do anything that won’t benefit them. They just want to remain in power.

“When we set up Muafakat in the hopes of aligning our struggles to uphold Islam, PAS immediately ‘ran off’ with Bersatu once they attained power.

“In the past, PAS said one can go to heaven when they were working with DAP. Now, they call DAP a party of infidels. So, they are capable of changing their stance anytime,” Razaleigh (above) told Utusan Malaysia in a recent interview.

In 2019, Umno and PAS joined hands to form Muafakat to champion issues pertaining to the Malays and Islam.

Following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan government in February 2020, Umno, PAS and Bersatu joined hands to form a new government under the leadership of then-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

However, cracks emerged between Umno and PAS after the latter joined Bersatu to form Perikatan Nasional.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had accused PAS of being “insincere” for wanting to revive the cooperation between the parties via Muafakat.

“We doubt their sincerity in making this offer as it was them, not Umno, who withdrew from Muafakat,” he said.

Zahid added that PAS had violated their agreement, which “felt like a betrayal”.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said on Sept 14 that the party was continuing efforts to attract the support of Umno leaders to revive the pact.

However, the Marang MP said it only involves some Umno leaders and not those allied to Zahid.

"Yes, yes, yes (we are open to accepting Umno).

"(We) want to attract bumiputera Malay leaders, and non-Muslims who are not extreme," he was reported as saying.

‘No need for apology’

Commenting on an Umno leader’s suggestion that Harapan apologise to Umno for past criticisms, Razaleigh voiced scepticism.

However, the veteran politician believed that an apology was no longer necessary as Harapan and BN are now cooperating in the coalition government.

“When it comes to apologising, even siblings and friends talk bad about each other over a cup of coffee. If you want to apologise for everything, it may not happen as it was in the past.

“I’m not so sure… perhaps, this is new politics. But until today, PAS has never stopped criticising Umno,” he added.

On Sept 30, Johor BN deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed urged Harapan to apologise to Umno for the decades of allegations which shaped a negative perception among voters.

However, Zahid dismissed the call and reminded his party leaders not to “tease” allies in the coalition government.

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