UMNO’S proposal for a unity government with PAS in four states was premature, said Abdul Hadi Awang.

The PAS president said there is still much to be discussed, such as the views of all Malay-Muslim parties and the views of the Bumiputera, before any unity government can be formed between the two parties.

“This is what PAS is fighting for – Islam Bumiputera. We are not tied to Umno alone, but also to Bersatu who are in the government, including Gagasan Sejahtera, which already merged with PAS, as well as other Islamic pressure groups,” he said during the opening of the Pidato Perdana Islam and Kerohanian in Telipok, Sabah, last night.

Hadi said PAS has enough experience in forming a unity government, saying the party joined a unity government in 1973 and was a component in Barisan Nasional in 1974 when it was formed.

He said the Islamist party had also worked with the defunct Semangat 46 and DAP.

Yesterday, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan proposed the formation of a PAS-Umno unity government in the four opposition states – Terengganu, Pahang, Kelantan dan Perlis.

He said the Umno-PAS government could be called “united ummah (community) government”, and the matter was was discussed during the technical committee meeting between the two parties on Tuesday.

“I discussed with PAS the other day that if possible, we should start with a unity government known as the united ummah government in Terengganu, Pahang, Kelantan, and Perlis.

“But in Perak and Kedah where there is only a narrow difference between BN-PAS seats and Pakatan Harapan (PH), we will ‘shake’ them (PH) so that they will not sit easy,” he said.

The PH-controlled states that are most threatened by the Umno-PAS team-up are Kedah and Perak.

In Kedah, PH holds 19 of the 36 seats in the state assembly, followed by PAS (15) and BN (2).

In Perak, PH holds 30 of the 59 seats in the state assembly, followed by BN (25), PAS (3), and one independent. – March 10, 2019.