A PAS leader said UMNO must “return to Islam” and work with PAS as a coalition partner if it wants to bounce back following its disastrous show in the 15th general election (GE15).
PAS central working committee member Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz noted that UMNO’s defeat in the 2018 general election should have put the party on the “path of repentance”.
“UMNO had showed its determination to head down the path and had already made the necessary amendments in the party’s constitution that puts Islam at the forefront,” he said in a Facebook post.
“Unfortunately, the internal division, the confusion that came about as a result of the power struggle in the government after the 14th general election (GE14) and its rivalry with Bersatu had dimmed its efforts to strengthen the spirit of Islam in UMNO.”
Nik Abduh further noted that after repenting, UMNO needs to be with a “good friend” the way how a “patient needs to be with the doctor”.
“When you repent and want to improve yourself, you need to be with a good friend. The ‘patient’ must be with the ‘doctor’. If the ‘patient’ continues to be with other ‘patients’ they will only sigh in despair and give up,” he stressed.
“This is why UMNO must be with PAS. This is because PAS is ahead of other parties in its commitment to Islam.”
The former Bachok MP said while UMNO had already forged strong ties with PAS in their Muafakat Nasional (MN) alliance, “ongoing misunderstandings” had dimmed MN and the PAS-UMNO relationship.
“UMNO is still (comprised of) two groups. Whichever group that gets to lead [the country] later, I invite them to join PAS in building the country,” he said.
Barisan Nasional (BN) won 30 seats in GE15, with 26 of them coming from UMNO. Perikatan Nasional (PN) won 74 seats.
BN later agreed to form the current government with Pakatan Harapan (PH) and East Malaysian coalitions, with Nik Abduh calling UMNO’s choice to be with PH “a desperate act” due to its loss of confidence in PN.
In drawing parallels between BN and other coalitions like PN and PH, Nik Abduh called the BN brand “too old and dull” and is in need of a renewal.
“[This is in comparison] to PN and PH which are younger, newer and more exciting while also capable of attracting new voters,” he added. – Jan 2, 2022
Main pic credit: Bernama
