Pakatan Harapan is saying the new PAS and Umno alliance will become like the Taliban because it fears their impact on its chances at the ballot box, said Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The newly minted opposition leader said he based his remark on the statements being churned out against the new arrangement between the two Malay-Muslim parties.

 “They are clearly not happy with our cooperation. That is why they have accused the Islamist party of being like the Taliban.

“I don’t think they would make statements like this if they were not scared of our alliance,” he said at the Parliament lobby today.

The Umno vice-president said that the new alliance’s goals run contrary to what has been said by PH’s leaders, and the new alliance has already acknowledged the importance of other races.

“Islam cares about the importance of everyone. In fact, we discussed the importance of the ummah and other races in our first meeting (with PAS),” he said.

Ismail also pointed out that PAS has governed Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah, without any discord with other races.

“PAS has governed these three states, and I’ve never seen people complain all this while. This is because it has never sidelined them,” he said.

Ismail said he believed Umno’s new arrangement with the Islamist party can be the catalyst to toppling the PH government. – March 13, 2019.