KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 8 — The central PAS leadership did not arrive at a conclusion on which party to ally with for the next general election today, after weeks of oscillating between Umno and Bersatu.
Its president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang said PAS will continue its efforts to unite the ummah, which requires “commitment” from all three of the country’s core Malay Muslim parties to ensure the country is stable after the 15th general election.
“PAS is of the view that there needs to be ‘flexibility’ in negotiating with Umno and Bersatu, including ongoing discussions about the terms that have been presented and seat negotiations,” he said in a statement this afternoon.
The Marang MP did not elaborate on the terms and seat negotiations.
The central PAS leadership had been closeted in a meeting at its national headquarters here this morning and were expected to make up its mind on whether to stick with its Perikatan Nasional partner Bersatu founded in early 2020, or go with Umno, the part it has formed the Muafakat Nasional pact with in September 2019.
PAS had found itself caught between the two as Umno and Bersatu are at loggerheads with each other and have refused to set aside their differences in the run-up to the national election.
In today’s statement, Abdul Hadi confirmed three PAS-led states – Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu – will not dissolve their state legislatures in the near future should a dissolution of Parliament happen to pave way for fresh elections.
He gave the reason as to allow the state governments to focus on disaster relief efforts for the forecasted floods that will happen during the monsoon season between mid-November till March 2023, on top of post-Covid economic recovery efforts and measures.
