Great if you can persuade Umno to cooperate, Bersatu leader tells PAS

By admin-s On Oct 3, 2022

Yesterday, Zahid said PAS had to meet three demands if it wanted to return to political cooperation – leave Perikatan Nasional (PN), sever political ties with Bersatu, and officially announce that it would separate from PN and Bersatu.

(FMT) – A Bersatu leader says his party is still open to working with Umno if PAS can persuade Umno to form a unity coalition for the 15th general election (GE15).

Bersatu Supreme Council member Razali Idris said his party has always supported PAS’ Malay-Muslim unity agenda, but Bersatu was rejected by Umno, which gave various reasons for not wanting to cooperate with the Muhyiddin Yassin-led party.

“If PAS succeeds in persuading Umno to accept Bersatu, we will celebrate that decision,” Razali told FMT. “The fact is that Umno has clearly rejected it (cooperation with Bersatu), but if PAS still wants to try, let it. If it succeeds, that’s great.

“Bersatu has no problem considering cooperation (with Umno). Our agenda is the same as PAS’ – to unite the ummah.”

He was commenting on PAS’ efforts to achieve its unity agenda through Muafakat Nasional (MN) following the meeting between PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi on Sept 20.

Razali said Bersatu’s commitment to the unity agenda had been proven when it accepted the invitation to join MN. However, this had not been possible following Umno’s rejection.

He also rejected claims that Bersatu was trying to destroy Umno, including stealing its members, saying this was an excuse by Umno to refuse cooperation with Bersatu.

Commenting on Muhyiddin’s statement that Barisan Nasional (BN) was PN’s main enemy, Razali said his president’s speech followed a series of moves by Umno showing that it firmly rejected cooperation.

“Umno resolutely rejected us. Whether it was in the Supreme Council meeting or the Umno general assembly, they said ‘no’ to Bersatu. Then, we said ‘no’ to Umno.

“If people don’t want us, make fun of us, and slander us, will we cooperate? he asked.