PAS says no to electoral pact with Umno

(FMT) – PAS has rejected Umno’s suggestion of forming an electoral pact for the coming general election (GE14).

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the party would remain independent and work as a third force to the ruling party and the opposition.

“Umno is not the choice at the moment for cooperation in the coming election,” he said, adding that the same went for other political parties.

“We are not fighting for power only but also to continue our principles and struggles according to Islam,” he told FMT.

He was asked to comment on the remarks of Umno information chief Annuar Musa, who said Umno had given its president Najib Razak the mandate to negotiate an electoral pact with PAS.

Annuar was reported as saying that everything looked positive, and that the party was still on track with the idea.

He also said that such a pact would be supported by many Malays who are concerned about Malay unity.

However, Takiyuddin said his party was bound by the decision made by its supreme council this year not to cooperate with any political party.

“The decision was made after PAS broke ties with DAP. All of us are bound by this ruling and decision, that is very clear.

“It is up to Umno or any other party to have cooperation with us, but we are bound by this ruling,” said the Kota Bharu MP.

He added that PAS had no intention of negotiating the formation of a coalition, or cooperating with other political parties.

“Since we are bound by this, we cannot initiate any pact,” he added.

He said the party was aware that the PAS-led Gagasan Sejahtera, which sees itself as the third major political bloc in the country, was still weak at the moment.

However, he said it was confident in its support and mission for GE14, which must be held by the middle of next year.

For over a decade, Malaysia’s political sphere saw straight fights between the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) and opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat, of which PAS was a part.

However, PAS had a bitter exit from the coalition amid policy disputes, particularly with DAP. This eventually saw the formation of a new coalition, Pakatan Harapan, consisting of DAP, PKR, PPBM and Amanah.