Why be with weak Umno if you can have a strong Pas, says Faizal on Unity Govt courtship

SHAH ALAM - Unity Government’s invitation to Pas to join them clearly reflects the coalition’s desperation in seeking support, says Perikatan Nasional (PN) Perak Chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

He said such efforts to do so only proves that the Unity Government acknowledges and has admitted that Pas was more political influential and stronger than their current coalition partner Umno.

“If you are the Prime Minister, surely you dream of having the strongest group of people with you thus clearly Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) wants to cooperate with Pas.

“Why do they need to cooperate with Umno? Umno is weak, many Malays no longer support them, they don’t even have that much seats.

“In fact, this could actually be a strategy for them to leave Umno and go to Pas,” he told Sinar Daily yesterday when met at the Karangkraf headquarters here.

Faizal, who is also Bersatu deputy president, said this could also be seen as a tactic to destroy the PN coalition for political gain.

On Saturday, Pas president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang claim that he was contacted by several individuals with offers to join the unity government.

He had said the offer was raised after Pakatan Harapan (PH), especially PKR, realised that its position was unstable as the number of their Malay majority seats were not as many as Pas.

Later on Monday, Pas deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man backs Hadi's claims, stating that several quarters had contacted him and invited the party to join the Unity Government.

He was quoted saying that the offer was presented to him by a representative from the government who had met with him personally.

Tuan Ibrahim had said Pas declined the offer and would remain with PN as s promised during their campaigns and that they do not lie to their voters.

The 15th General Election last November saw Pas clinching the top spot with 49 seats out of the 70 contested, followed by PH's DAP winning 40 out of 55 seats contested.

PKR only won 31 seats out of 104 contested, while Bersatu won 25 seats out of 81 contested.

The most shocking results however was Umno’s mere 26 seats win out of the 120 contested. This was Umno’s worst performance ever in history.

The unity government was formed by a coalition of parties that can comprise several main blocs, namely PH and Barisan Nasional, alongside smaller parties.