UMNO’S provocative behaviour has mediation difficult between the party and Bersatu, said PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man

Tuan Ibrahim said his party wished to retain its relationship with Umno but at the same time, it would not ditch Bersatu.

He said PAS appreciated Bersatu for including the Islamist in the federal government.

Tuan Ibrahim said Bersatu had also saved Malaysian from being governed by Pakatan Harapan by leaving the coalition.

“(Speaking for) PAS, we are in the government because of Bersatu; because if Bersatu had not left  PH, PH would have remained in power.

“All this happened because Bersatu left PH and formed a consensus with us. Why should we reject Bersatu? That’s not right;  we have to preserve our relationship,” he said at a ceramah in Hulu Terengganu last night.

He said this did not mean PAS would not defend its relationship with Umno.

He said PAS had always tried to be the mediator in the conflict between Umno and Bersatu but many provocations by Umno had made the effort difficult.

Among Umno’s “provocative acts” were its decision to contest in all seats in Kelantan in the general election despite there being a pact between the party and PAS.

Tuan Ibrahim said PAS was prepared if Umno wanted to fight.

“For us, if they want to fight, it doesn’t matter because we are used to fighting. It’s hard to be friends.

“But what is the purpose of our fight? Umno often makes decisions to challenge us in Kelantan.

“PAS’ rival on the east coast is not PH but our own friend Umno.”

In 2019 Umno and PAS formed the Muafakat Nasional pact to gain the Malay/Muslim support following their defeats in the previous year’s general election.

In February 2020, the two parties joined Bersatu to form the federal government following the fall of PH.

Bersatu and PAS went on to form Perikatan Nasional while Umno chose to remain in Barisan Nasional.

Ties between Umno and Bersatu continued to fray, resulting in the former withdrawing support for then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is the Bersatu president.

Muhyiddin was replaced by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

While all three parties are in the coalition federal government, they continue to compete against one another in elections, including in the March 12 Johor polls.