The Malaysian Insight

PRIME Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad took a jab today at PAS and Umno who formalised their union yesterday, professing himself mystified by the Islamist party’s ability to work with so-called infidels.

Asked to comment on the two parties’ declaration that their politics was not based on race and religion, Dr Mahathir said the pact was about nothing but race and religion.

“It is all about race and religion but what we do (our actions) is important. If you are here to stir up racial feelings, then it is wrong,” he said, at the Putrajaya University Boat Race 2019 at the Perdana Leadership Foundation & Putrajaya Lake Club.

He then took a poke at the the two Malay Muslim parties, bringing up an old quarrel between the two partners.

“I don’t understand how PAS can cooperate with Umno because Umno is kafir,” he said.

At the peak of the feud between PAS and Umno, the Islamist party had denounced the nationalist party as a party of infidels, or kafir. 

Present at the event were Dr Mahathir’s wife, Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad and Putrajaya Corporation president Aminuddin Hussin.

The new pact between PAS and Umno, the country’s two largest parties, will create a new opposition front to take on the PH government, which they accuse of sidelining Muslims and Islam.

Their critics, however, said the decades of enmity between PAS and Umno will hamstring their ability to work together as they have traditionally vied for the same voters – Malay-Muslims.

Observers said the pact will run into problems when it comes time to decide which party will contest which parliamentary and state seats in the elections.

In last elections, Umno won 79 parliamentary seats while PAS managed 18 wins. – September 15, 2019.