GE13: Nik Aziz rejects unity talks

 

(The Star) – If they (Umno) come, I will spit at them.

Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who has just relinquished the Kelantan Mentri Besar’s post, said he will reject any attempts by Umno to initiate goodwill talks with PAS.

He said it would be Umno who will have to seek PAS for help as Umno is fast running out of friends, including the Chinese community.

“If they (Umno) come, I will spit at them. They have misinterpreted Islam,” he said at his house in Pulau Melaka here yesterday.

According to Nik Aziz, Umno is facing political turmoil because it had embraced nationalism instead of Islam.

“If they embrace Islam, then we can talk about Malay unity,” he said when asked to comment on state Umno secretary Datuk Md Alwi Che Ahmad, who asked Umno to initiate goodwill talks with PAS under the premise of a national reconciliation initiative by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Nik Aziz claimed that Umno was not good in keeping friends, citing history on why PAS broke off from Barisan Nasional in the 1970s, and on how Umno had abused the now defunct Semangat 46 party.

On the lack of support from the Malays towards PAS, Nik Aziz blamed it on the lack of proper information about its struggles.

He added that Pakatan Rakyat lacked the media resources to propagate the teachings of Islam.

On his sudden move to retire, he said that he made the decision two or three days before the start of campaigning for the 13th general election.