PAS puts cold marriage with Umno on ice - but hopes to rekindle the spark

PAS puts cold marriage with Umno on ice - but hopes to rekindle the spark


JOHOR POLLS | PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has many analogies to describe the cold relationship between his party and Umno as they continue to drift apart in one election after another.

"In principle, even though it does not appear alive, it isn't dead either," Tuan Ibrahim told journalists after a ceramah at the Perikatan Nasional (PN) election operations centre in Simpang Jeram, Johor, last night.

This prompted reporters to ask him if this was a case of the walking dead.

"If it is a corpse, then it would be dead. But it isn't dead yet, so it's not a corpse," Tuan Ibrahim said.

He also presented an analogy to indicate that PAS still harboured some hope that its relationship with Umno could somehow be repaired.

"It's akin to winter in another country. During winter, we see the trees appear as if they are dead. But when the new season arrives, they come alive - that's our hope," he added.

‘Muhyiddin’s efforts also to no avail’

Tuan Ibrahim said Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, under the PN banner, had made efforts to engage Umno but to no avail.

"There was no answer, so it's okay. We will continue to uphold PN.

“We're not going to talk about Muafakat Nasional at the moment. For Muafakat, we close the file for now," he added, referring to the pact between Umno and PAS.

He acknowledged that the Umno-PAS joint committee had not met for months. However, Tuan Ibrahim added that at a personal level, he still has a good relationship with Umno leaders.

"During cabinet meetings, Umno and PN, including us, also support the prime minister's leadership. We work for the people, regardless of the parties we belong to.

"In that context, the (Umno-PAS) relationship is good," he said.

Rocky relationship

Umno and PAS have continued to drift apart due to PAS's insistence to work with Bersatu, which is an Umno splinter party.

PN is a coalition comprising Bersatu, PAS, Gerakan, Star and SAPP while Umno leads BN along with its MCA, MIC and PBRS partners.

BN has been making political manoeuvres to weaken Bersatu and PN, even though they are part of the federal government.

The goal is for BN to build its momentum in order to gain dominance in the next general election so that it can govern alone.

BN and PN are contesting against each other in the Johor state election.

In Simpang Jeram, PN is represented by Zafrul Salleh of PAS while BN is fielding Umno's Lokman Md Don.

The incumbent there is Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub, who is defending the seat under the Pakatan Harapan banner. The fourth contender is Pejuang's Mahaizal Mahmor.