UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi urged its ally PAS to respect its decision in not cooperating with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) in the polls.
“We respect PAS leadership’s decision to cooperate with Bersatu in the upcoming Melaka state election.
“At the same time, UMNO also calls for PAS to respect our resolution in not cooperating with Bersatu,” he said in a Facebook post.
In its annual general assembly last year, UMNO delegates had passed a resolution never to cooperate with Bersatu in the next general election.
Despite overtures from Bersatu and PAS for UMNO to continue working under the Perikatan Nasional banner, the nationalist party had firmly rejected it.
Miffed by UMNO’s constant rejection, Perikatan supremo Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and PAS had decided to contest against UMNO-Barisan Nasional in the upcoming Melaka state election.
Two days ago, PAS Ulama wing Mokhtar Senik said urged Melaka voters to ensure UMNO loses the polls in order to “teach the party a lesson”.
“Hopefully, UMNO’s defeat in Malacca will teach them honest and clean politics. As such, all PAS voters must become political teachers to UMNO,” Malaysiakini reported him as saying.
Touching on the matter, Zahid reminded PAS that UMNO has never forced the Islamist party to ditch Bersatu as it respected each parties’ policies and political strategies.
With that, he added, UMNO had its own policies and strategies in convincing the electorate, which never strayed from championing the race, religion and country.
“And UMNO will contest in the Melaka state polls using the BN banner, come what may, despite PAS not being interested in fulfilling its pledges under the Muafakat Nasional charter,” the Bagan Datuk MP remarked. – Nov 8, 2021
