PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said this when asked about the party’s stand on cooperating with DAP to form coalition state governments in the event that PAS emerges as “kingmakers” in GE14.
He added that PAS would not form a coalition government with DAP and Amanah in Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang, the states that the Islamist party would be focusing on in GE14.
“For now, PAS is only maintaining political cooperation with PKR, because it leads the Selangor government,” Tuan Ibrahim said on the current state administration which includes both DAP and PAS despite their present enmity.
PKR is also part of Pakatan Harapan, but Tuan Ibrahim said PAS wouldn’t work with the opposition pact directly, or have anything to do with bitter enemies DAP, or Amanah, which is a splinter party of PAS.
“In the next general election (GE14) we will focus on five states i.e. Kedah, Terengganu, Kelantan, Selangor and Pahang,” he said, adding that PAS would try its best to form the government in Selangor.
In the 2013 general election, PAS, which was then part of the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact, won 15 state seats in Selangor, as did its then ally DAP, while PKR won 14 seats. Subsequently, PAS’ representation in the state legislative assembly was reduced to 13, when two of its assemblymen joined Amanah.
When asked whether PAS would cooperate with DAP and Amanah to form the federal government, Tuan Ibrahim said PAS would decide on this when the time came.
Tuan Ibrahim also hit out at Amanah, labelling the party as a “spoiler”.
Previously, PAS had been accused of being “spoilers” due to their refusal to work with Pakatan Harapan and their alleged “warm” ties with Umno.
“Amanah is a disturbance to all. They will be a spoiler in our efforts to topple Barisan Nasional.”
Tuan Ibrahim added that although PAS wasn’t going to have direct cooperation with Pakatan Harapan, it wanted to avoid three-cornered fights.
“Don’t disturb PAS seats,” he said, repeating the call first made by PAS Dewan Ulama information chief Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali last week.
Khairuddin had warned Pakatan Harapan against contesting in the 80 parliamentary constituencies which PAS was eyeing. However, PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad later said the number of seats and areas where PAS would stand had not been finalised yet.