LESS than two weeks after declaring it will back Dr Mahathir Mohamad, PAS said it is exploring a formal pact with Umno for the 15th general election to take on Pakatan Harapan.

Negotiations with top Umno leaders on the said pact are slated to begin next week after the conclusion of tomorrow’s Semenyih by-election, where PAS is helping the Barisan Nasional lynchpin take on PH, confirmed the Islamist party’s deputy president, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, last night.

The decision is a departure from PAS’ previous insistence that it will work with Umno only on an ad hoc basis, and remarks that it does not discount the possibility that it will contest against the Malay nationalist party in GE15.

Tuan Ibrahim said PAS is looking into a formal pact with its traditional foe as the idea has received a lot of support from both parties’ grassroots.

“I’ve gone down to many places, and I see Umno and PAS members sitting together. They want an agreement between both parties,” he told a crowd of PAS supporters in Bandar Seri Putera, a Malay-Muslim voting district in Semenyih.

“God willing, in GE15, we will forge a political cooperation to achieve victory. PAS and Umno have many similar principles.”

Since last year’s GE14, PAS and Umno have worked together numerous times as opposition parties, but the scope of their cooperation has been described by PAS leaders as “ta’awun”, an Arabic term that refers to a temporary understanding on a case-by-case basis.

Tuan Ibrahim’s confirmation indicates that PAS is prepared to upgrade its ties with Umno to “tahaluf siyasi”, a permanent political pact sealed with an agreement similar to the type PAS had with DAP and PKR in the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

News of the PAS-Umno talks was announced by Umno acting president Mohamad Hasan, who told reporters that the parties’ top leaders will meet on March 7.

Asked whether PAS is working towards “tahaluf siyasi” with Umno, Tuan Ibrahim said: “We are looking at the concept.”

Last month, the Islamist party said it will support Dr Mahathir as prime minister in the event that a no-confidence motion is brought against him. However, PAS said such support does not mean it would not work with Umno.

Tuan Ibrahim said cooperating with Umno is not an alien concept, and was apparent when PAS joined BN in 1974.

“We even campaigned for (third prime minister) Hussein Onn when he contested in the general election.” – March 1, 2019.