The Gua Musang MP said Umno needed to review the matter carefully before committing to political cooperation with the Islamist party in the upcoming 14th general election (GE14).
He said although it was impossible for these two parties to merge, any other agreement to work together should only be finalised if it would genuinely benefit the people.
Razaleigh, popularly known as Ku Li, was quoted by Astro Awani as saying that the history of the two parties in Kelantan had shown that their struggles were different.
He said it was important to ensure that “a banana tree does not bear fruit twice” (“pisang tidak berbuah dua kali”), in citing a Malay adage about being stung twice.
“There is no proposal for us to merge and I don’t think our grassroots members would support that,” he said, adding that PAS supporters would also not welcome such a move.
“What we should look at is working together to champion the rights of the people and fulfilling their interests.
“If that is the case, I do not see why we cannot work alongside them,” he told reporters in Gua Musang today.
Razaleigh was apparently referring to the move by 20 PAS state assemblymen in Kelantan in 1977, when PAS was part of the Barisan Nasional (BN) state government there, in supporting a no-confidence motion against menteri besar Mohamad Nasir.
Thirteen Umno assemblymen, together with the sole MCA representative, walked out of the state assembly as a result.
Later, 12 of the 14 PAS MPs in Parliament opposed a bill to impose emergency federal rule over the state. This led to the party being expelled from BN.
A fresh state election held the following year saw Umno/BN winning by an overwhelming margin to take control of the state.
Razaleigh today also said he welcomed three-cornered electoral fights in Kelantan in GE14 as they would give voters more options, based on who they felt could serve them better.
In May this year, Razaleigh, who had held ministerial portfolios in charge of finance as well as international trade and industry, in the 1970s and 1980s, had suggested that Umno and PAS repeat their political cooperation of the 1970s when facing GE14.
However, he said the only problem was whether such cooperation would be acceptable to the party’s grassroots, especially due to the issue of allocation of seats and candidates.
In BACHOK, Umno information chief Annuar Musa said Umno and PAS need to discuss and find common ground for the good of the Muslim community because continued bickering will not bring any benefit, Bernama reported.
“We have no problem if PAS wants to discuss and cooperate for the good of Muslims,” he said at a casual event with media practitioners here last night.
Although the two political parties could not compromise on certain issues, they could still cooperate using the “ta’awun” concept such as the amendment to the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965.
The Ketereh MP said Umno was prepared for a straight fight or a three-cornered fight in GE14.
“Umno will fight parties which support DAP, such as PPBM and PKR,” he added.