Sharkar Shamsudin said Umno was playing the role of “observer” in the unity government to oversee issues affecting Malay-Muslims.

“We are always open to collaboration and have never closed the door,” he told FMT.

Sharkar was responding to calls by Malay-based Perkasa and 16 other NGOs for Umno to revive MN or cooperate with Perikatan Nasional, as well as to refrain from working with Pakatan Harapan in the next nationwide polls.

The call was made at a meeting between the NGOs and Umno leaders, including secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki yesterday.

Sharkar, who was also at the meeting, said the party would deliberate on the matter.

Umno and PAS, the country’s two largest Malay-based parties, had formed MN six years ago with the aim of uniting the ummah.

It, however, collapsed after PAS chose to work with Bersatu – a move which Umno viewed as a betrayal. In May 2022, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi declared MN “as good as dead”.

In September last year, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang revealed that the party was still courting Umno to join MN, as long as Zahid was not involved.

Umno youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh, when contacted for comment, welcomed the call, saying he “wholly agrees” that Malay-Muslim politics should be united.

Separately, PAS Youth information chief Khairul Nadzir Helmi Azhar said efforts to revive MN must be based on a broader spirit of Muslim unity rather than narrow party interests.

He said the earlier MN pact led by Umno and PAS should now include all major Malay parties to ensure progress for the Malay-Muslim community, not just a mere attempt at consolidating power.