PAS grassroots have no problem if the party leadership decides to formally break ties with Umno and ditch the Muafakat Nasional (MN) charter.

They said there might be confusion at the moment about ties with Umno but members will abide by any leadership decision.

They said it was the Barisan Nasional lynchpin party that had strained ties with PAS, because Umno refused to work with Bersatu, by extension leaving PAS with little choice but to anull their short-lived marriage.

A PAS member, who wanted to be known as Arif, 45, from Kuala Terengganu, said despite current confusion, the grassroots would eventually rally around the leadership.

“We are not clear what the real position of the leadership is at present. We understand why they did not explain their position earlier because we see that they are trying to cement a relationship among the three Malay parties.

“However, if Umno rejects (working together) with Bersatu and still refuses, we can’t do anything but accept the party’s decision,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Umno and PAS formed MN in September 2019 after both parties were left licking their wounds following the 2018 general election.

However, relations between PAS and Umno began to fray when Umno refused to co-operate with Bersatu and its Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, formed by then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, upon ousting the Pakatan Harapan government last year.

Things came to a head when PAS decided to continue co-operating with Bersatu, not Ummo, in the Malacca elections, last month.

Last week, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang accused Umno of betraying the MN charter by rejecting the inclusion of Bersatu in the pact.

Hadi said the charter his party had inked with Umno was to accept other parties and civil society groups that wanted to work for the Muslim and Malay community. 

Hence, Hadi said PAS refused to work with Umno in MN and instead wanted to continue moving with PN.

The Marang MP pledged his support for PN and said the coalition should be a political idea with a greater role and power, while those whom he described as supporters of the colonialists should be removed.

Ariff conceded that the grassroots had not expected the relationship between Umno-PAS to last long due Umno’s selfishness.

“Particularly in Terengganu, Umno often accuses PAS even though we are very open, so that’s why we grassroots think is quite impossible to be together in MN.

“MN will only succeed if Umno discards the attitude of Abang Long (elder brother) and its ego. Unfortunately, that did not happen,” he said.

Kedah PAS committee member Mohd Hilmi Abdul Wahab said it was not PAS’ decision to stop cooperating with Umno.

He said Umno made the decision by refusing to bring in Bersatu into the MN fold. He also rejected the notion that PAS would lose if it was not allied with Umno.

“Before PH, PAS went solo. During GE14 PAS went solo and there was no problem. It means that PAS can go solo and openly cooperate with any party for the Malay-Islamic agenda. 

“If Ummo wants to say Bersatu is weak, Umno is weaker. Look at their results when they lost in the last election,” he said.

PAS activist Mohamad Anuar said that Umno’s action was expected. He said the party grassroots were always wary of Umno and could read its actions.

“We never openly aired our unhappiness about our rival and knew MN was in trouble.

“Yet now that our president has indicated where the party stands, the grassroots have an idea of what the party’s position is now.” – December 10, 2021.