PAS has not discussed any plans to revive the Muafakat Nasional (MN) pact with Bersatu, said party information chief Datuk Razali Idris.
Utusan Malaysia reported Razali as saying that should the Islamist party want to revive the pact including with UMNO in the fold, the matter must be discussed with the top leadership of Perikatan Nasional along with that of the two main component parties.
“We have never discussed the matter. This is something that must be decided by the top leadership of both main component parties as well as PN,” he was quoted as saying.
“So far we have yet to receive any proposal or invitation to work together.”
Meanwhile, UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin said MN no longer exists and the party’s focus at the moment is its cooperation with the unity government until the 16th General Election (GE16).
“MN for this current term is no more. We (UMNO) stand with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to combat corruption and address the issue of poverty in the country,” he said.
Mohd Sharkar further noted that any efforts to revive MN should go through former Ketereh MP Tan Sri Annuar Musa who had registered MN as a non-governmental organisation (NGO).
Recall that another UMNO Supreme Council member had recently criticised PAS for persistently raising the possibility of reviving the MN pact between the two parties.
According to Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi UMNO has “closed the book” on the matter and claimed that PAS was only trying to divide the parties in the unity government.
Puad’s statement came following PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Hashim Jasin’s remark that hinted at the possible revival of the UMNO-PAS relationship through MN before GE16.
Sinar Harian reported Hashim saying that the Islamist party is always open to welcome a relationship with UMNO, provided that the latter cut its ties with DAP.
He mentioned that the MN agenda, previously proposed by PAS and UMNO, had been progressing well with strong grassroots support. However, during that period, UMNO was unwilling to accept Bersatu.
Formerly a union between PAS and UMNO, MN was declared defunct ahead of the 15th general election. Its name has since been used by an unrelated NGO led by Annuar. – Feb 19, 2024
Main pic credit: Bernama
