PAS willing to work with Umno on matters of Malay unity, but no further, says Mat Sabu

PETALING JAYA: PAS has not closed its doors to Umno on matters of Malay unity, said the Islamist party's deputy president Mohamad Sabu, but would not join forces with them.

He said they were willing to talk on matters of common interest, but that is as far as they would go.

"They (Umno leaders) are winking and waving at us. They can wink, but we are not winking back.

"If they extend their hands, we will slap their hands away," he said in his speech at the opening of the 54th PAS Youth Muktamar at Dewan Sivik MBPJ here Wednesday night.

Mohamad claimed that Umno was trying hard to win over PAS because they had been weakened.

"When they are strong, they will smash us," he said.

Mohamad said PAS had not closed its doors on any party, but he cautioned that it would be wary of any unity move as it had bad experience with Umno in the past.

Mohamed also called on party members not to wash their dirty linen in public, adding that it would demoralise the party.

In Shah Alam, party vice-president Datuk Husam Musa said there had been concerns among PAS members that it would become the weakest link in Pakatan Rakyat if Umno lost its powers.

The former senior Kelantan state exco member said this was because the majority of Umno elected representatives would choose to join DAP and PKR instead of PAS.

"This is the worrying bisikan (whispers) that have been spreading among the PAS members," he said in his opening speech at the PAS Muslimat (women's wing) 53rd muktamar here Wednesday night.

He said PAS needed to get assurances from DAP and PKR that its position in Pakatan Rakyat was secure.

"If this is our concern, we should strike a deal with our colleagues in Pakatan that every seat allocated to PAS in  past general elections would remain ours, even if Pakatan won the Federal Government," he said.

He added this 'deal' was in addition to the seats that PAS had already won in past elections.

Earlier, Husam said that there would be "weaknesses" in any political cooperation, but stressed that any shortcomings could be improved through good governance.

"Even a marriage has its ups and downs, let alone a political cooperation," he said.