Recently, Mahfuz had received backlash when he suggested that PAS and Amanah work together by contesting for a seat each in the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar by-elections.

In a statement issued today, he said that regardless of what critics say, the two parties should sit down and hold discussions on how they could come up with “a win-win situation” for the sake of the country and its people.

“My statement and suggestion was made in order to see Umno and BN defeated in the by-elections and 14th GE (General Election).

“It is only practical that each party understand their own current strengths and influence based on the composition of voters who are multiracial as well as the political unrest that exists in Malaysia and these two seats,” he said.

Mahfuz added that the two parties should take a lesson from history and cited the example of PAS and Umno splinter Semangat 46, which was led by Tengku Razaliegh Hamzah, in 1990.

He pointed out that despite being involved in toppling the PAS government in Kelantan in 1978, Tengku Razaleigh later worked alongside PAS in a coalition called Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU).

APU also included Parti Berjasa, a party borne out of an internal crisis in PAS in 1977, and Hamim, a party formed by former PAS President Mohd Asri Muda, whose sacking had led to PAS losing Kelantan in 1978.

“In the 1990 GE, PAS accepted and cooperated with APU which involved three parties which had once betrayed PAS, including Semangat 46, Berjasa and Hamim and managed to regain the Kelantan state.

“The question is, would it be wrong for PAS and Amanah to meet up and cooperate to defeat Umno and BN in the coming 14th GE?”