SHAH ALAM - Muafakat Nasional should continue, says Umno Veteran Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz citing similar principles and struggles.
He said it was healthy cooperation stating that despite contesting against each other during the recent Melaka and Johor state elections, the two parties were still able to work together peacefully in Parliament and other states such as Kedah and Selangor.
"Since the 14th General Election, Pas is not exactly the Taliban we thought they were.
"They are just as modern as us except the fact that they are a religious party while we are a national party.
"In the end, we are on the same page focusing on social justice for all Malaysians,” he told Sinar Daily today.
Nazri said both Umno and Pas prioritise the Muslims and Malays but not to the extent of forgetting or ignoring the non-Malay communities.
He said Pas ruled Kelantan for decades and yet, there has not been any mass migrations of non-Muslims.
"I am strongly promoting the cooperation and advocating this. We have shown that we are able to work together in Parliament and function well in several states,” he added.
Nazri said it can be arranged in such a way that Umno and Pas could work together at the federal level and in certain states, citing Germany as an example where certain parties were a coalition at the federal level while moved separately state side.
"It is nothing new and we have set precedence during the Melaka and Johor polls,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of cooperating with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), Nazri said no.
"As far as we are concerned, Bersatu is out,” he said.
He said there were no questions or consideration when it came to Bersatu as they were consider traitors to Umno.
Umno, he said will fight them especially since they had "stolen” the party’s seats.
The Umno-Pas collaboration was established after the 2018 elections when the Barisan Nasional government was toppled for the first time. Its main aim was to politically unite the Malay-Muslims.
However, earlier this month, Umno President Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said they will not cooperate with Pas in the 15th General Elections.
Despite drawbacks from various top leadership to work with Pas, Selangor BN Chief Liaison Tan Sri Noh Omar said the two parties (Umno-PAS), which are currently part of the Opposition in Selangor, must unite to wrest the state from Pakatan Harapan (PH).
He pointed out that the political situation in each state was different, especially in Selangor, where Umno is in dire need of political cooperation with Pas.