PAS prioritises Umno over Wawasan, says spiritual leader

PAS will prioritise Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) over other parties, including Hamzah Zainudin’s Wawasan, in negotiating political alliances, says the Islamic party’s spiritual leader Hashim Jasin.

Hashim said a PAS syura council meeting he recently chaired agreed that the Islamic party could hold negotiations with any party, but Umno should be given priority, Utusan Malaysia reported.

Adding that forging strong ties between PAS and Umno was not easy, he said they must maximise the opportunities they currently have.

“Whoever PAS chooses to cooperate with, Umno must not be left out. The unity between PAS and Umno must be preserved, with negotiations prioritising Umno over other parties,” he was quoted as saying.

He said cooperation between the country’s two largest Malay-Muslim parties should be based on religious and national interests, not just political considerations, as partnerships driven solely by political interests would not last.

He cited the Muafakat Nasional pact, which fell apart after PAS joined Bersatu in establishing Perikatan Nasional (PN).

On a separate matter, Hashim said PAS was prepared to use its own logo in the Nov 14 Melaka polls if it is unable to contest under PN’s banner.

He said this would not be a problem because PAS’s crescent-moon symbol is well established, while BN could continue using its own logo.

PN’s future has been uncertain since the Registrar of Societies indefinitely suspended its operations and activities.

Earlier this week, the High Court cleared the path for PN to challenge the decision in court, but denied an application for an interim stay of the suspension.

The court is scheduled to hear PN’s formal stay application on Oct 22.