We won’t be fooled again by PAS, says Puad

We won’t be fooled again by PAS, says Puad

Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi explains why the party had set conditions for a possible alliance with PAS in the next general election.

Puad Zarkashi says PAS showed they were not willing to cooperate with Umno as their ministers were among those who wrote to the King asking that GE15 not be held this year. (Bernama pic)
PETALING JAYA:
An Umno Supreme Council member has defended his party’s decision to set three conditions for PAS if the Islamic party wanted to work with them ahead of the next general election (GE15).

Puad Zarkashi said that Umno did not want to be fooled for the second time by PAS.

He added that this was more so after Umno had welcomed comments from some PAS leaders recently on the Muafakat Nasional (MN) alliance still being alive.

Puad cited the move by 12 ministers from Perikatan Nasional (PN), which includes PAS, to write to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and express their stand against GE15 being held this year, saying it revealed the Islamic party’s real position.

“This shows that PAS does not intend to cooperate with Umno,” he said in a Facebook post.

Puad said that PAS found it difficult to cut ties with Bersatu as it feared that Umno would be more dominant. Bersatu, Puad added, was Umno’s rival.

He also questioned the Islamic party for not inviting Amanah – a PAS splinter party – to join MN if it was truly concerned about Muslim unity.

MN is a political pact forged between PAS and Umno in September 2019, when both parties were part of the federal opposition, to unite the Malay-Muslim electorate.

“Isn’t this playing politics?

“Umno had set conditions because it did not want to be fooled for the second time.”

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