PAS 'sincerely' wants to help Johor BN form govt, hopes Umno won't be 'arrogant'

PAS emphasised that it is sincere in its commitment to supporting Umno-BN so that they can continue to form the government in Johor.

Johor PAS commissioner Mahfodz Mohamed said the support promised by the party does not come with expectations of any reward or compensation from BN.

Mahfodz (above) stated that PAS’ only desire is to see Johor administered by anyone who is not a leader from Pakatan Harapan.

“Johor PAS does not expect any reward. The goals of PAS and Johor Umno are the same... ‘no DAP’,” he told Malaysiakini.

Last night, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang stressed that the party is always ready to make up for any shortfall for Umno-BN in this state election, whether to secure a simple majority if they fall short or to strengthen the majority to reach a two-thirds threshold.

However, Hadi noted that this would depend on the number of seats PAS wins this Saturday.

PAS has fielded candidates to contest 11 out of the 56 seats available in Johor. At the same time, the party has directed its supporters to cast their votes for BN - including MCA and MIC - in constituencies where there are no Perikatan Nasional candidates.

Meanwhile, BN and Harapan are contesting all 56 seats. The threshold required to form the state government is 29 seats.

A Malay-Muslim government

However, despite the openness shown by Hadi, Johor BN has reportedly rejected the offer, even offering a guarantee that PAS will not be part of the government should BN win the state election.

Johor BN chairperson and caretaker menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi also dismissed allegations that he is prepared to allocate nominated state assemblyperson positions to PAS leaders.

According to Mahfodz, PAS’ purpose in directing its members to vote for all BN candidates is to enable a “Malay-Muslim government” to be established in Johor.

“What is important is the unity of the ummah (Muslim community) and that Johor continues to be led by Malay-Muslims, not Harapan and DAP.

“I (Johor PAS) am not asking for any reward, so we do not expect anything in return from Johor Umno,” Mahfodz added.

The former head of the PAS central ulama wing also echoed Hadi’s point about helping Umno and BN form the Johor government if they do not have a sufficient number of seats.

“We hope Johor Umno will not be arrogant. If it is fated that Umno does not have enough seats to form the government, PAS stands ready to help them do so.

“Previously, they had 40 seats, but what if (this time they win) fewer than 30 seats?

“If Umno falls short of seats to form a government, PAS is ready to help establish a Malay-Muslim government,” he added.

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