PAS never U-turned on Muafakat, has Plan B if it doesn't work out, says Tuan Ibrahim

KUALA LUMPUR: PAS has never U-turned on its Muafakat Nasional alliance with Umno but if the two parties fail to iron out their issues, PAS has a "plan B", says Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

The PAS deputy president said PAS was currently considering several conditions put forward by Umno and will make a decision whether to continue with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) in Perikatan Nasional or otherwise before the 15th General Election (GE15).

"PAS welcomes Umno's readiness towards ummah unification but for us, several conditions that have been set by Umno must be detailed first so that the decision can be made by our party and we will decide in our next meeting this weekend.

"There are a few small matters that we are working on. If it works out then good but if not, we have a plan B," he told reporters in Parliament on Wednesday (Oct 4).

When asked if the three conditions to PAS where that PAS needed to leave Perikatan, sever political ties with Bersatu and officially announce that they were 100% free from Perikatan and Bersatu, Tuan Ibrahim said these were not in Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's official statement and could thus be untrue.

"If the conditions were true, it must be in his official statement but it's not there," he said.

He also said that Bersatu and Umno’s reconciliation through the Muafakat platform would not just be for political interests but also for the interests of the Muslim community in Malaysia.

Ummah unification does not just involve PAS and Umno but should also include other alliances such as Bersatu and non-governmental organisations, he said.

"It is because ummah unification is a large congregation," he said.

He added that even though PAS and Umno do not have formal meetings through Muafakat, no one wanted to dissolve the platform as it was not for political interests alone but for the interests of all Muslims.

He stressed that PAS had never U-turned or retreated from Muafakat.

On whether Bersatu would agree to work with Umno, he said that there was still time to discuss.

"I'm always positive and think we can succeed. We will try first.

"If you want to talk about being sensitive or feeling hurt, PAS has more feelings hurt by Umno, more than 60 years, compared to Bersatu, which was part of the Umno leadership," he said.