THE charter Umno will sign with PAS will focus not just on electoral alliance but also on working together in the states currently administered by both parties, said Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The Umno president said the cooperation will encompass all levels between both parties.

However, he did not want to be drawn on the possibility that both parties will form a coalition government in Perlis, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan.

“Cooperation is at all levels, not just in one or two states. We will discuss further after the charter is signed,” he said briefly today.

The Barisan Nasional lynchpin, in its quest to wrest Putrajaya from Pakatan Harapan, has teamed up with traditional foe PAS, and the parties are on the verge of formalising their relations.

In a joint statement on Thursday, the parties said they will sign a charter on September 14, leading to the establishment of a nationalist Malay-Muslim opposition pact ahead of the 15th general election.

The charter will be inked by Zahid and his PAS counterpart, Abdul Hadi Awang, at Putra World Trade Centre, which is Umno’s headquarters.

Even though Umno lost federal power, it held on to the Pahang and Perlis governments while PAS retained Kelantan and captured Terengganu in the last general election.

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan had earlier envisaged the possibility of coalition governments between the two parties earlier this year.

However, since then, both sides have remained silent on the possibility. – July 28, 2019.