In a Facebook post, Isham reiterated that PAS must ditch Bersatu, its partner in Perikatan Nasional, if it wanted to work with Umno.

Claiming that Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin was helping fund PAS, he said the Islamic party cannot hope to be financed by the former prime minister while asking Umno for seats for the next general election (GE15).

This was not normal in a genuine friendship, he said, but was the strategy of a party that was seeking to take advantage of others.

“One party cannot profit while the others suffer losses and are cheated supposedly in the name of the unity of the ummah,” he said.

The top leadership of PAS and Umno have been going back and forth over the past month on the possibility of cooperation in GE15, despite Muhyiddin declaring Barisan Nasional as PN’s enemy in nationwide polls.

Previously, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the party’s political foes were Pakatan Harapan and its allies, not BN.

He had said that only unity among the Malay political parties could guarantee a government that would be fair and equal to all people.

Isham said there cannot be too many Malay splinter parties like Bersatu, Pejuang and others if the Malay people were to be united, adding that Umno and PAS were sufficient.

“If there are too many Malay splinter parties, the Malays will be at odds and eventually split up,” he said.

He maintained that Umno will not work with Bersatu for betraying the party in the past.

“If they genuinely want to return to struggling for the Malay people and to Umno, they must not push to be given seats,” he said.

“If both Bersatu and PAS stay stubborn and only want to hear their own ideas that prioritise their own gains, then it’s better for them to remain in PN.”