KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 — It is the Islamic religious duty of leaders in political arch-rivals PAS and Umno to bury the hatchet and start working together, Perlis mufti Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin claimed today.

The outspoken Islamic scholar — the first in the country to be appointed mufti twice — said the country can only benefit from active cooperation between the two old adversaries, especially if it leads towards good and taqwa or adhering to God’s will.

“All this while PAS has struggled from outside to improve Umno’s politics, why does PAS not try instead to do so within a government.

“It is a project of islah siyasah (to correct the administration) of the opposing party and also their own weaknesses,” he said in his latest post on his blog.

Talk of a PAS-Umno unity government resurfaced last Sunday, after former Chief Justice Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad told PAS to join Barisan Nasional should the ruling coalition lose the next general election, in order to protect Malay interests and the position of Islam.

PAS vice-president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, however, shot down the proposal this morning, saying that Malays should instead unite under PAS’ banner if they are sincere in wanting an Islamic government that is corruption-free.

Mohd Asri today said his suggestion is not to remove the identities of either party, but rather for PAS and Umno to retain their identities while reminding each other of truth and patience.

He said the ongoing leadership crisis in PAS will only work against the people’s wish for healthy competition between government and opposition, as it could lead to three-way battles in the coming national polls and potentially lead to one side becoming too dominant.

The Perlis mufti argued that a partnership between PAS and Umno would lead to more and better ideas for governance, while also opening a new political platform within the opposition to replace PAS.

“There is a lot of common ground between PAS and Umno all this while, especially in the Islamic ideology of both parties. Only the language differs, but much of the content is the same.

“The rakyat will be able to see the extent of the political honesty of both Malay-Muslim parties when they unite in an administration. They will be able to make a mature evaluation,” he said.