BANGKOK, June 23 — PAS should first declare Umno an Islamic party before it announces an alliance with the latter that it once branded as “infidels”, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today.
“My opinion is that PAS, before it starts working together with Umno, should first declare Umno as Islam.
“Previously, PAS said Umno is ‘kafir’ (infidel)... because Umno worked with ‘kafir’ people... but now they (PAS) are not calling Umno ‘kafir’,” he told Malaysian media during a press conference here.
Dr Mahathir is here for the 34th Asean Summit. Earlier today, he attended the 13th Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) summit and the 12th Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle (IMT-GT) summit.
PAS yesterday approved a resolution in support of a political alliance with Umno at its 65th annual congress here.
The resolution read out by PAS Ulama information chief Asri Daud comes amid some members indicating that the political cooperation should have some restrictions and conditions.
Asri said there was an urgent need to widen the “taawun” and “tahaluf siyasi” (political cooperation and understanding) approach in current politics as the foundation of strengthening Muslim unity in the nation.
Asri said “taawun” and “tahaluf siyasi” are in line with Islamic demands and the current requirements for strengthening Islamic teachings, expanding “da’wah” (proliferation) and protecting the interests of the people and the nation.
The motion was passed with near unanimous support from the other delegates.
