KUALA LUMPUR, July 30 — Umno and PAS have denied today any talks involving seat negotiations between them in the political pact between the two Malay-Muslim parties.
The secretaries-general of Umno and PAS, Tan Sri Annuar Musa and Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, had in a joint statement said the approved agreement had not touched on the issue at all.
“The Umno-PAS agreement was approved by the consultative committee from both parties which had not touched on the issue of seat negotiations.
“It was agreed that both parties have its own mechanism on the matter,” they said.
The two parties denied a report by Malaysiakini claiming that they have agreed to allocate an equal number of seats to contest in the next general election.
The report had cited an unnamed source from to have claimed that the seat allocation would be on seats had been contested between Umno and PAS in previous elections, but would not include in Sabah and Sarawak.
The two Malay-Muslim parties had once been arch-enemies but set aside their differences after Pakatan Harapan’s stunning victory in the general election last year ended the Barisan Nasional coalition’s six-decade rule.
The new Umno-PAS alliance is banking on winning back rural voters who are majority Malay and Muslim to counter the PH coalition at the 15th general election due by 2023.
