PUTRAJAYA, June 23 ― Partnerships between political parties of conflicting ideologies will not last, Umno's Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan said today amid Pakatan Harapan’s bid to seek cooperation with PAS.
In a press conference at his Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry, he said this meant the opposition pact would still not rival Barisan Nasional (BN) even if the Islamist party were to join.
“We (BN) have a clear direction, we know how to respect one another. None of that with Pakatan Harapan,” the BN strategic director said.
“They are still not in a condition to become alternative, they cannot as they have different ideologies. No political coalition will survive if your coalition partners have different views on how to do things.”
Pakatan Harapan extended an olive branch to PAS after clashes between the two resulted in easy victories for BN in two by-elections on June 18.
On Tuesday, PAS said it has no plan to reconcile with Pakatan Harapan for the time being.
PAS was part of the Pakatan Rakyat pact that preceded Pakatan Harapan. The previous pact collapsed following open conflicts between the Islamist party and former partner DAP over hudud.
PKR and DAP went on to form Pakatan Harapan with PAS offshoot Amanah.
