PAS rejects potential pact with UMNO

by Jeff Gimm

After key members of the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party(PAS)said they were interested in a pact with the ruling UMNO, several meetings full of infighting took place. After one final meeting, the official statement coming from the PAS was that there was to be no pact with the UMNO. To quote PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali "The talks with Umno are a closed chapter - officially closed, no more"
The fact that key PAS members were even considering a pact with the UMNO is intriguing. In the recent past both parties have been trying to appeal to Malaysia's large Islamic community,but if a potential pact was in the works;perhaps the underlying Islamic connection was the key to an alliance.