PUTRAJAYA - Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has labelled Pas as ‘talak crazy’ for not rejecting the idea of re-collaborating with Umno.
However, the Umno President stated that their party was not yet open to re-establishing ties with Pas.
"Perhaps some are ‘talak crazy’ because in the past, they were part of the government," he said during a press conference at the Contributions to the Palestinian People's Humanitarian Trust Fund handover ceremony by 99 Speedmart Sdn Bhd and Wanita Umno Malaysia here today.
The word ‘talak’ is of Arabic origin and refers to divorce in the Islamic context. A person who is ‘talak crazy’ however refers to those who were still thinking about getting together with the ex-spouse after divorce.
He made these remarks in response to Pas Deputy President Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man's statement that Pas did not reject the idea of collaboration with Umno despite their 'bitter' historical relationship.
This comes after the proposal for a merger to take over the administration of Putrajaya was raised by Umno's Supreme Council member, Isham Jalil.
Zahid said that Pas seemed to be hurt despite having the most seats in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition but continuing as opposition.
"How painful it is for them to have many seats yet remain in opposition," he said.
Meanwhile, Zahid challenged Isham to attend the Supreme Council meeting held tonight to voice his opinions.
"So far, he has not attended the Supreme Council meeting three times.
"Hopefully, he has the courage to attend and voice his opinions that he opposed when we talk about cooperating with Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form a unity government," he said.
Previously, Isham alleged that some Umno-BN leaders acted as DAP’s bootlickers, which led to their defeat in the Kemaman by-election.
He claimed that Umno continued to face rejection from the Malay community because the party, which should champion Malay and Islamic causes had strayed.