UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the cooperation between UMNO and PAS through Muafakat Nasional has to be set aside during the 15th general election (GE15).
The Barisan Nasional (BN) chairperson said this was due to the party being given enough space to PAS to agree on the matters contained in the Muafakat charter, but it never materialised.
On Sept 14, 2019, the charter was signed between UMNO and PAS, which among others, agreed on forging cooperation by developing Islamic and Malay narratives, without denying religious, racial, and cultural diversity as an axis to political stability, racial harmony, and national prosperity.
“So, we should just forget the desire (to cooperate) expressed by them (PAS),” Zahid said.
He was responding to a question on whether UMNO would go solo during GE15 when met at a Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration at the UMNO Bagan Datuk Complex in Perak yesterday.
Meanwhile, when asked about PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan’s statement yesterday that unifying Muslims through Muafakat was the best formula, Zahid, who is also the Bagan Datuk MP, said it was purely PAS’s view.
When asked about Padang Rengas MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz’s call for Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to be subjected to action by the party’s disciplinary board for not toeing the party line in support of the current UMNO-led government, Zahid said the party was open to differences of opinion.
“I think if the UMNO disciplinary board wants to take action, (there’s) not only him (Razaleigh) but many other former leaders, whether they are MPs or outside the leadership of the supreme council, whom action can be taken on.
“The board has certain discretion to take stern action if there is damage caused to the party’s unity,” he said.
On May 5, Nazri was reported to have said that the UMNO disciplinary board should take stern action against Razaleigh for choosing to remain in an independent bloc. – May 8, 2022
