PAS to notify Perikatan of stance against Pakatan alliance next week, says Youth chief

ALOR SETAR, Sept 2 — PAS' stance to reject cooperation with Pakatan Harapan (PH) for the upcoming 15th general election (GE15) will be brought to its meeting with Perikatan Nasional (PN).

PAS Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said the stance has been turned into a motion by today and will be brought into the party’s annual congress tomorrow.

"I am confident that in terms of cooperation with Pakatan Harapan, the PN parties have understood, this is our stand that there will be no negotiation with PH in GE15.

"This stance was decided by the youth today without discussion,” he told a press conference after the wing’s Muktamar (annual congress) here today.

PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, in the coalition’s congress and subsequent National Recovery Council meeting last week, had suggested all Opposition party leaders consider reopening the door of negotiation with the coalition, made to ensure a safer future for the country.

Muhyiddin added it was also aimed at preventing the country from falling further into kleptocracy, corruption and abuse of power under the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

However, both Pakatan and Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad rejected the idea.

PAS Youth in its Muktamar yesterday and today touched on the party’s stance in PN, including the need to "scold” Muhyiddin’s party Bersatu for the latter's own stance on working with Pakatan.

Ahmad Fadhli said the PAS had always reminded Bersatu on the matter and will bring foward the matter again when both parties meet next week.

"There are those who say that we did not ‘scold’ Bersatu.

"Even in my speech in the Muktamar I mentioned very clearly, that we need to have negotiations with other parties that can be improved. I also said in my speech that there is no negotiation with PH,” he told 800 delegates in his closing speech earlier today.

Ahmad Fadhli echoed deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s speech yesterday on the need to hold talks with Umno on the 27 current Pakatan seats which both parties are targeting for the upcoming GE15

He said that the cooperation with Umno through Muafakat Nasional (MN) has never died and PAS will always continue to be open to talks, especially on the seats until nomination day.

"These negotiations will continue to be worked on, especially on the 20 to 27 seats that are seen as potentially being won by Umno or PAS if they do not clash with each other,” he said.