Snap polls: Johor PAS still hopeful for tie-up, but MB is rather busy
Johor PAS leadership is seeking a meeting with the state Umno chief Hasni Mohammad to discuss the upcoming legislative assembly elections.
This comes after Hasni publicly expressed Johor Umno's wish to go into the election on its own, an indication that the two parties will be pitted against each other again despite the Muafakat Nasional pact.
According to a report by PAS mouthpiece Harakahdaily, Johor PAS commissioner Abdullah Husin has requested to meet Hasni but the Johor menteri besar has yet to be able to accommodate his time for PAS.
"We are working towards having a meeting with the state Umno leadership soon, to discuss our pact," he told the website.
Abdullah also reportedly said that Hasni's statement was only the state Umno leadership's opinion and any decision on cooperation would still be made by the national Umno and PAS leadership.
He said Johor PAS is open to discussions with Umno and BN, but indicated that they are ready to face the electorate nevertheless.
During the 2018 elections for the Johor legislative assembly, PAS fielded 40 candidates. Only one was successful.
On Sunday, Hasni told a press conference that Johor BN has suggested to the party that they should go solo into the state election and contest all 56 seats without cooperating with any other party outside the coalition.
PAS and Umno forged the Muafakat alliance in September 2019. However, the alliance eventually fell apart during the Malacca elections last November. However, PAS is still supporting Umno's Ismail Sabri Yaakob as prime minister in Parliament.
Similar to events prior to the Malacca elections, PAS is now trying to convince Umno to go back to the Muafakat alliance for the Johor elections.
With Hasni's announcement, the chances of this happening are slim.
Deputy Johor Umno chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed, in an interview with Utusan Malaysia recently, accused PAS of being "selfish" for choosing Bersatu over Umno.
"When it (PAS) joined Bersatu in Perikatan Nasional, and they started to earn salaries and other perks, then we could see PAS' true colour.
"What kind of behaviour is this? When it was still in the opposition, they wanted to be with Umno and were even willing to sign the Muafakat charter.
"But then, PAS accused Umno of not following the charter. But who was it that broke the agreement?" asked Nur Jazlan.
