Umno’s Nur Jazlan slams the door on PAS for Johor poll

(MMO) – Johor Umno deputy chief Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said there was no need for his party and the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition to cooperate with PAS for the still unannounced state election here.

He said it should already be clear by now that BN will be contesting on its own in the premature Johor poll and the 15th general election.

“This means that there won’t be any cooperation between Umno and PAS or the Muafakat Nasional (MN) alliance, no matter what PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Mat said.

“That is his right. For me, let us leave it to fate after this,” said Nur Jazlan when met at the Johor Umno liaison office in Jalan Yahya Awal here today.

Nur Jazlan, who is a former deputy minister, was commenting on reports of Tuan Ibrahim saying PAS was prepared to work with Umno in the event of a premature state election in Johor.

According to the Kubang Kerian MP, PAS would also hold discussions with Umno’s top leadership soon regarding the cooperation.

Today, Nur Jazlan recalled that Tuan Ibrahim that had issued a statement claiming PAS would work with Umno for the Melaka state election last year.

“However, he also made a U-turn in joining the rival Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, thus opposing Umno,” he said.

Nur Jazlan also questioned how PAS will contribute to Umno in the state election as it was unclear what the Islamist party could bring to the table in the current political situation.

He also said Umno could not trust PAS to be loyal as the latter has shown itself willing to change partners and positions on a whim.

“In the Melaka state elections, Umno wanted to lend a hand to cooperate but PAS declined.

“They left MN to be with PN. So, in Johor, we do not see the need to be together,” said Nur Jazlan.

Earlier today, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar gave his royal assent to dissolve the Johor assembly, paving way for an early state election.

Quoting Clause 23 of the Second Part of the Johor State Constitution 1895, it announced that the Johor state assembly was dissolved as of today.

Earlier, Sultan Ibrahim granted an audience with Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad at 5pm in the Istana Bukit Serene here.