Melaka PAS says its cooperation with Umno can last beyond three years, dismissing doubts over the durability of the political alliance.
Melaka PAS commissioner Zulkifli Ismail said the previous cooperation between the two parties should not be used to gauge their commitment to political unity.
“Those of us who are working to make this unity a reality will ensure that it is not just for three years, but for good, God willing,” he said at a press conference here.
He was responding to remarks by Bersama leader Rafizi Ramli, who said Umno and PAS had never managed to share power for more than three years.
Rafizi questions durability of Umno-PAS cooperation
Speaking at a ceramah in Pengkalan Batu last night, Rafizi described Umno as a party that was not founded to share power, adding that PAS would eventually learn the same lesson from its previous cooperation with the party.
PAS and Umno formalised an alliance known as Muafakat Nasional in 2019. However, the alliance effectively collapsed the following year after PAS joined Bersatu to form Perikatan Nasional (PN).
BN-PN alliance expected to gain momentum
Zulkifli also said support for the current Barisan Nasional (BN)-PN alliance was expected to grow as polling day approached.
Under the electoral arrangement, BN is contesting 23 seats in the Melaka state election, while the PAS-led PN is fielding candidates in the remaining five seats.
Umno-led BN has been exploring closer cooperation with PN after an informal electoral alliance at the Negeri Sembilan election in August helped the two coalitions secure a two-thirds majority in the 36-seat state assembly.
BN won 18 seats, while PN secured seven.
PAS also supported BN candidates at the Johor election in July, where BN won 48 of the 56 state seats.
