KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 — Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) is hoping to improve its relationship with PAS as it approaches the first anniversary of its formation next month.

Amanah secretary-general Mohd Anuar Mohd Tahir noted that PAS members had "cooled down” their blatant criticisms in recent times, and said neither side could keep baring fangs at each other "forever”.

"We must be a civil political party, we must believe that relationships will get better over time,” he told a news conference here.

"We must have positive thoughts about the future,” he added.

Amanah-PAS ties have been prickly from the start. The new party was founded last September by a breakaway faction of PAS leaders who disagreed with the conservative leadership of president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, contributing to the break-up of the Pakatan Harapan opposition bloc.

Following their split, PAS leaders labelled Amanah members traitors.

Amanah, which has an open membership policy, has since forged a new partnership with PKR and DAP under the Pakatan Harapan alliance to take on the formidable Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general elections due by 2018.

PAS chose to forge ahead on its own, though it has since formed new ties with another minor Umno fragment Parti Ikatan Bangsa led by former minister Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir as an alternative bloc to Pakatan Harapan.

However, two recent by-elections in June indicated that the opposition would be hard put to defeat the BN ruling coalition unless the parties resolve their differences and fought as one team.

Amanah and PAS both contested against the BN in both the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar parliamentary seats and were trounced.

However, Amanah polled more votes than PAS in Sungai Besar, while PAS obtained more votes between the two in Kuala Kangsar.