PETALING JAYA, Nov 27 — PKR deputy president Azmin Ali today said he was confident that the members of Pakatan Harapan and PAS will eventually form one formidable force against Barisan Nasional in the next General Elections.

The Selangor mentri besar said that despite differences between certain parties, the priority should be in keeping straight fights against the federal ruling coalition.

“Maybe at present time there are some issues that need to be addressed but I am optimistic and I believe in the wisdom of our leaders in DAP, in PAS, in Amanah, and also in Keadilan, will eventually work together as a team to fight Umno and Barisan Nasional,” he told reporters after launching the AMK and Wanita National Congress 2015 here at MBPJ Civil Hall.

“What is important is that we ensure that it is a one-on-one fight against Umno and Barisan Nasional.”

He added that it was only a matter of mechanics and putting a political strategy in place to strengthen the cooperation among the opposition parties.

“But I am confident,” he said.

“We have been working together for so many years and faced so many challenges and issues in the past but we were able to resolve those issues amicably within the framework of Pakatan Rakyat then, and now, if God be willing, Pakatan Harapan in cooperation with PAS.”

The previous pact known as Pakatan Rakyat collapsed earlier this year after founding partners DAP and PAS refused to speak to each other; the latter party’s increasingly conservative stand led to a breakaway faction styling itself as moderate Islamist that subsequently registered as a political party under the name Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).

PKR, DAP and Amanah went on to form the new coalition Pakatan Harapan, with the Penang state government officially being run by the new coalition soon after.

However, the Selangor state government have not followed suit, with Azmin previously stating that that a Pakatan Harapan government in Selangor was unnecessary, noting that the PKR supreme council had resolved to work with all opposition parties, including PAS, which had garnered criticism from DAP leaders.

In his speech today, Azmin addressed the question of dissent within the coalition towards PKR’s decisions, advising component party members not to pit his party’s leaders against each other.

“We want all parties, specifically our friends, to respect the stance taken by Keadilan and to never pit our leaders against each other. We celebrate differences in opinion but we will never allow a divide [in our leadership],” he said.