SHAH ALAM - Umno's revival is because of the abysmal performance shown by the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, not because of Pas, said Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
Mohamad also stated that Pas is part of the government today is because of Umno.
"We rose back to prominence not because of Pas but because of support from the Malay community and the abysmal performance of PH and PN.
"If Pas feels that BN is no longer relevant, then let us return the mandate to the people and let the people decide whether Pas or PN are still relevant or not,” he said in a statement on Saturday.
On Friday, the media reported that Pas president, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, expressed regret over the attitude of some Umno leaders who seemed to have forgotten that Pas worked hard to save the party after it suffered a huge defeat in the 14th General Election (GE14).
"Pas is not looking to teach a duck how to swim, we just want to save this lame duck and its broken leg from PRU14.
"Unfortunately, when it healed, it wanted to swim on its own. It left us. This is immoral and not correct,” he said last Friday.
Mohamad said although Pas called Umno with various titles such as ducks, geese, tigers, so on and so forth, Umno is still the largest Malay party in the country.
He also stressed that the Johor State Election (PRN) was held for various strategic reasons and not for the sake of certain 'clusters' in UMNO.
He said that Johor Menteri Besar, Datuk Hasni Mohammad had his own reasons to get a new mandate and that it was not the business of other parties to question it.
He said that Hasni was trusted by the party to advise the Sultan of Johor in accordance with the circumstances and needs for the dissolution of the state assembly.
"Certain parties who have accused this 'cluster' as the cause of the Johor state election is very inaccurate. The term was just an invention by Umno's enemies, " he said.
Similarly, Mohamad, who is also the BN deputy chairman, has been appointed as Johor election director.
The of the road for Muafakat Nasional?
The Johor state elections will also determine the end of the road for the Muafakat Nasional (MN) coalition.
This was due to the decisions of Umno and Pas not to cooperate in the Melaka and upcoming Johor state elections.
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) political analyst, Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said that MN's time is nearing its end.
"This is because we have seen a lot of statements, ridicule, and even threats coming from each party lately which I feel are not serving any purpose in strengthening MN.
Although PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang expressed the Islamist party's willingness to strengthen MN while being with Perikatan Nasional (PN), it is not a resolution that is accepted by UMNO.
"For them (Umno), MN is MN without PN," he told Sinar Harian on Saturday.
Commenting further, Sivamurugan said it would seem that Pas and Umno can no longer see eye to eye when it comes to strengthening MN.
"Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also said that it takes two to tango.
"What Johor state elections will show us this time around is a clash so bad that it will eventually lead to the official stance that MN is no more," he added.
He said that insinuations, ridicule, and criticism issued by leaders of both parties should not continue.
"When there are insinuations, threats, and ridicule, we won’t be able to save MN. It should be a political cooperation that can strengthen the position of the ummah.
"In Johor, it will be the end for any cooperation within Muafakat Nasional,'' he said.