PAS must work with Umno to save 27 parliamentary seats that are at risk to be won by Pakatan Harapan, should the two Malay parties clash with the opposition in the 15th General Election (GE15), its deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said. 

He said that PAS and Umno need to rekindle their cooperation through Muafakat Nasional (MN) as their bond has never been broken.

“I want to emphasise that MN has not been disbanded, Umno has not declared they have quit, neither has PAS. We need to maintain (MN) for the sake of Islam and the country.

“But if we have to fight (with Umno), we will fight,” he said at a press conference after officiating the PAS Youth Summit in Alor Setar, today.

According to Tuan Ibrahim, the cooperation with Umno will be finalised at the party level soon, by this month.  

“We are looking at this direction (cooperation). In a month we want to clarify the direction. Our machinery is ready, but we want to know what is the status of the 27 seats that require negotiations with Barisan Nasional,” he said.

He said that the position of the 27 seats is critical and needs to be discussed together with BN and will involve Perikatan Nasional (PN) so that all parties will not lose out.

Tuan Ibrahim said that among the seats up for discussion were Raub and Bentong. 

He also mentioned the need for PAS and Umno to cooperate if they want to recapture Selangor from PH.

“But if Umno insists on going it alone, PAS has no choice but to fight it.”

“We have no issues. We are looking at a win-win situation and for all (parties) not to lose out.”

PAS is a component party in PN that was formed together with Bersatu and Gerakan as well as two parties in Sabah, Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star) and Parti Maju Sabah (Sapp).

The issue of the 27 seats at risk was once voiced by PAS central committee member, Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marsuki in his interview with the media in conjunction with the third anniversary of the establishment of MN in the middle of last month.

Tuan Ibrahim also insisted that PAS had closed the door for cooperation with PH.

“PAS has made a decision not to cooperate with PH, period. We see our negotiations within the framework of MN together with PN,” he said.

He said PAS will field 30% of candidates from their youth wing in GE15.

Therefore, he wants the wing to be ready in all aspects and show excellent performance.

“I see that there is a great need for youth to immediately take over the leadership of the party.  At least 30% of youth will represent the party in GE15,” he said. – September 1, 2022.