Is PN crumbling? Pas Youth told to stand ready as party reviews ties with Bersatu

SHAH ALAM – Pas leaders and youth members must be ready to accept any decision regarding the party’s future and coalition stability.

Pas Youth Chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden said this follows the Pas President's statement emphasising the need to review the form of cooperation and political relations with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).

He this stance warrants serious attention from all quarters.

He noted that building a strong, principled political alliance requires every decision to be made collectively, through mutual discussion among all Perikatan Nasional (PN) component parties.

"The primary focus at this time is to strengthen PN's role as the strongest check and balance against a government that is increasingly failing to handle various public issues, including the cost of living, economic pressures and national administrative instability.

"Therefore, the focus of the entire leadership and party machinery should be directed collectively toward efforts to strengthen the opposition consensus and strategise for upcoming political challenges, rather than opening up space for polemics that could weaken public confidence in PN," he said in a statement on Saturday.

Ties between Pas and Bersatu within PN appear to be on the verge of cracking, as the Islamic party systematically reviews a series of conflicting and negative actions by its ally.

Yesterday, its President Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang had said Bersatu’s action in rejecting the desire to strengthen PN by blocking the membership of Malay-Muslim parties as well as non-extreme non-Muslim parties was "unpleasant". 

He was quoted saying Pas wants to increase component participation in the coalition to empower the Malay-Muslim agenda, but the move was disagreed upon by the party in question.

Afnan Hamimi added that Pas Youth fully supports the President's statement regarding the issue of withdrawal of support and Statutory Declarations (SD) involving Negeri Sembilan Bersatu, as well as current political developments that also involve cooperative relations within PN.

"Pas also reaffirms its commitment to continue defending its togetherness within PN and supports all efforts to strengthen strategic cooperation between Pas and Bersatu to face the upcoming General Election and State Elections," he said.