KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 — PAS said it has forgiven all wrongdoings it previously accused Umno of committing, purportedly for the sake of the Islamic struggle and Muslim unity.

PAS spiritual leader Datuk Hashim Jasin likened this to when the Prophet Muhammad led his Muslim brethren to spread Islam while faced with various threats from the enemies of Islam, according to Berita Harian.

“Despite the threats, Muhammad continued the struggle for the sake of the faith and Shari'a.

“Since the Rasulullah can forgive people (Umar Al-Khattab) who once attempted to murder him, in later days they fought together to uplift Islam.

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“We are all of the same religion and only differed in terms of political ideology, so the cooperation between PAS and Umno is for the sake of Islam and Malay rights in the country,” he was quoted saying in Perlis.

However, Hashim said PAS would not forget all the “sins” committed by Umno, claiming he had also been a victim of such transgressions.

“We know and never forget what they (Umno) did to PAS back then, I was once transferred to another place within 24 hours just because I had difference in political ideology while employed as a civil servant.

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“But, looking at the state of Islam in Malaysia now, that cooperation is necessary,” he said.

On March 5, Umno acting president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan announced a formalised alliance between his party and PAS, likening it to a “marriage”.

Mohamad said the two parties will not contest under the same banner, but will collaborate in an unconditional political cooperation especially for by-elections ostensibly in the interest of uniting Muslims and Malays.

Explaining further, Hashim said his party’s cooperation with other parties was nothing unusual as it had worked together with DAP.

“PAS is a party that upholds to promises and terms set. We are aligned towards unification among Muslims rather than disunification,” he said.