KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 ― The year-old Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia (Ikatan) will not be one of the parties joining the new opposition bloc led by PAS, its president Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir said.

According to news portal The Star Online, Abdul Kadir said the party may be “very close” to PAS but has not received any invitation for the soon-to-be-formed alliance.

“No, it is not true. Yes, we are very close to PAS but there is no formal relationship to speak of,” he was quoted telling the English-language portal.

The former Cabinet minister also reportedly denied rumours of a meeting between Ikatan and PAS today.

Ikatan was launched last May after a two-year struggle to get itself registered.

During the launch, Abdul Kadir said that the party will remain neutral as its chief objective is to promote the ideals of the country’s founding fathers.

The party’s red-and-white logo bears the iconic image of the country’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman.

Earlier today, PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan said the Islamist party will form a new opposition alliance with an unnamed multiracial party next week that would compete against the Pakatan Harapan opposition pact comprising DAP, PKR and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).

The previous opposition alliance called Pakatan Rakyat (PR) that had included PAS crumbled last year following disagreements between the conservative Islamist party and the DAP. However, PAS is to date still friendly with PKR.

Although he declined to identify PAS’s potential partner in the new pact, Takiyuddin hinted that it was a registered multiracial political party.