We will work with Umno but stay in the opposition, PAS Youth says

(Malay Mail Online) – PAS youth chief Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz said today that PAS is willing to cooperate with Umno but in its capacity as a member of the opposition, noting that the Islamist party will not form a formal alliance with the ruling pact.

He said the cooperation would be in the form of PAS offering advice to the government on matters governing national development and Islamic principles, something he noted his party had suggested after Pakatan Rakyat (PR) dissolved.

“We welcome Umno’s suggestion. We offered a cooperation in the past which they rejected, so now when they offer it back to us, we will accept,” he told reporters after a PAS youth meeting at the party’s headquarters here.

“We will make doable alternative suggestions for policies and efforts that are aligned to Islamic principles, and if the government truly wants to find solutions to problems the Islamic way, we will help in steering the government in this direction.”

He added that PAS stands firm in maintaining itself as an opposition party, and that a large part of its “cooperation” would be in the form of criticising government policies so it could be corrected for the benefit of the people.

“I am confident that PAS role as opposition is what’s best right now. There is no reason for us to be in the ruling coalition because what we want is a change in country’s system.

“Today Umno is in power, so what we will do is guide them towards it,” he said.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had previously suggested PAS take on an advisory role in guiding the government.

He had said that PAS was not “power hungry” and only wanted to work towards “fixing the government”.

However, being met with rejection, he said PAS would have to take an alternative route, which is to “take over the government”.