Three PAS leaders have welcomed Dr Akmal Saleh’s call for Umno to work with the Islamic party to foster Malay unity.
PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said: “Wait for the coming of Muafakat Nasional 2.0”, in reference to the political pact forged by Umno and PAS in 2019.
Shahidan Kassim, a PAS central committee member, said his party was prepared to work with Umno in MN. “Send my regards to (Ahmad) Zahid Hamidi,” the former Umno leader said, referring to the Umno president.
PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden said the Muslims will be strong if they were not divided and that the agenda to unite the community must take priority.
“Let’s make it happen,” he said.
Akmal, the Umno Youth chief, said his party and PAS must work towards uniting the Malays through MN, which later fell apart when PAS and Bersatu formed Perikatan Nasional (PN).
His push for cooperation with PAS comes in the wake of a call by PAS election director Sanusi Nor to revive MN ahead of the next general election.
Sanusi last week said ties between PAS and Umno were vital for political stability, especially at the grassroots level. His call echoed those of other PAS leaders who had repeatedly brought up the idea of reviving the pact.
MN was formed a little over six years ago with the intention of consolidating the Malay-Muslim vote when Umno and PAS were in the opposition bloc following Pakatan Harapan’s victory in the general election of May 2018.
The pact fell apart after PAS formed PN with Bersatu while insisting that Bersatu be included in MN, which Umno was against.
