PAS and Umno should avoid insulting or hurling attacks against each other, caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said.

He said such an act was not only prohibited by Islam but also because the two parties used to work together under Muafakat Nasional, which had now become strained.

“We shouldn’t be attacking each other because the ties may be rekindled in future. In politics, there are no forever friends or enemies, and as such, we should avoid hurting other people’s feelings.

“Who knows, one day we will sit together again for the sake of the ummah and the Malays in the country. If we make baseless allegations, it will only create animosity,” he said to reporters after launching the P090 Bera Barisan Nasional election machinery.

Prior to that, Ismail, who is also Umno vice-president, opened the Bera Umno divisional meeting at the Bera District Council Convention Hall.

The Bera seat incumbent said this in response to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s statement on Saturday that PAS had suspended cooperation with Barisan Nasional (BN) because the coalition was tainted with corruption.

Hadi made the statement a day after BN chairman Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that Umno and BN had decided to go solo in the upcoming general election.

Meanwhile Ismail, in his speech when launching the BN election machinery, hinted that he would defend the parliamentary seat, which he has held since 2004, if agreed upon by the party leadership.

He reminded the party machinery to unite and work together to ensure victory for all BN candidates. – Bernama, October 16, 2022.