He said PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s recent statement was only made to strengthen the relationship within Perikatan Nasional but that did not mean the Islamic party would not cooperate with Umno.

“If you really pay attention to the statement from the PAS president, when we mention the unification of the ummah, it means we cannot be enemies. Even if we cannot be friends (as a coalition) we still cannot be enemies.

“Yes, we are ready, we are always open for any talks or negotiations at any time,” he said at the press conference for the closing ceremony of the ‘Forestry 121 Peaks’ programme at Taman Eko Rimba, today.

When asked if PAS was open to working with Pakatan Harapan (PH), he said the party maintained its stance of not having anything to do with the coalition in GE15.

Last Friday, Hadi said that PAS is delaying its cooperation with Umno as some leaders in the party, lynchpin of Barisan Nasional, are corrupt and greedy for power.

He said this delay in the tie-up between the two largest Malay-Muslim parties was to allow Umno and BN to “clear up” their issues. He had referred to Umno and BN as being in “murky waters”.