KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — Umno and PAS have agreed to officially register Muafakat Nasional (MN) as a political coalition with the Registrar of Societies (RoS).

In a joint statement today, MN secretary-general I Tan Sri Annuar Musa of Umno and MN secretary-general II Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan of PAS stated that both Malay-centric parties will move forward by enhancing their political cooperation with one another.

"The Muafakat Nasional leadership have agreed in consensus to give our commitment to further enhancing the unity and cooperation between the parties in preparation for the upcoming GE15.

"The leadership of both parties have agreed to register Muafakat Nasional officially with the Registrar of Societies Malaysia,’’ said the statement.

Last week, Umno had issued a statement to say it was reconsidering its support for the Perikatan Nasional (PN) administration led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is from Bersatu.

Since then, more and more Umno leaders have openly admitted that the party is not on good terms with Bersatu, for various reasons including accusations that the latter often undermines Umno’s position within the loose coalition.

The most recent rumblings have come from Umno supreme council member Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, who had stated that one of Umno’s demands is that a member of the party should be appointed deputy prime minister, among other key posts, as the party is the one that shores up PN the most.

It has also been reported that Umno’s top leadership are due to hold discussions on whether the party should continue supporting PN or otherwise in Pahang today.