‘Too early’ to ditch PAS, Pakatan chief sec says

(MMO) – Pakatan Harapan has not concluded discussions with PAS for a possible larger pact in the next general elections, the Opposition alliance’s chief secretary Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said today.

He maintained that the three-party Pakatan has not given up on roping in PAS to ensure straight fights against the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition in the elections due by mid 2018.

“The fact of the matter is Pakatan is still talking to PAS. The hope is that, together with PAS, and other opposition parties, both in peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak, we want to form a bigger and stronger coalition and arrive at a one-versus-one contest against BN,” he told Malay Mail Online when contacted to verify a Singaporean daily’s report that Pakatan will be sealing a new political partnership without PAS.

In a report today, The Straits Times reported unnamed sources saying that Pakatan and newcomer Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) are proceeding with their electoral pact that excludes PAS, which has been reluctant to work with the likes of Amanah and DAP, which formed Pakatan with PKR in 2015.

Saifuddin said that the pact has not been “finalised yet” and the agreement between PPBM, formed by former Umno leaders such as Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and Pakatan Harapan on December 13 last year was one of the steps towards achieving the goal.

“It is too early (to) conclude,” he said of the pact.

Three-corner fights involving PAS and Amanah last year handed comfortable majority wins for BN in both the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar twin by-elections.

However, he also said that Pakatan has to be prepared with a “Plan B” should PAS decline to join a pact with Pakatan and PPBM.

“As much as we are talking to PAS, we are also preparing for all possibilities,” he said.

Saifuddin said that the matter should not drag on to a point where it is “too near” the elections.

The federal BN government’s current mandate will only expire next year, but speculation is high that elections will be called this year.

The previous opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, collapsed in 2015 due to disagreements between PAS and DAP.