The Malaysian Insight

PAS has not received a formal invitation from Pakatan Harapan to join the federal government, party secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said today.

According to Takiyuddin, an invitation from Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was not enough.

The Kota Baru MP noted that the formal invitation should come from PH.

He said Dr Mahathir had not invited PAS to join the federal government and any such talk was “a presumption of all parties”.

“(Join the) federal government? We are the opposition. That depends on the offer.

“At the moment, we have yet to receive anything from the government.

“When you talk about government, that means the PH government. It is not the prime minister alone,” he told reporters after attending the MCA open house in Kuala Lumpur today.

Speculation about the supposed overtures surfaced after a photo of a recent meeting between Dr Mahathir, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and Terengganu Menteri Besar Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar went viral.

Takiyuddin said the party was committed to supporting Dr Mahathir as prime minister and noted that its party chief had said this many times before.

“We have openly declared our support for Dr Mahathir as prime minister until the end of the term, in Parliament and also outside,” said Takiyuddin, adding the Islamist party was committed to ensuring the prosperity and development of the nation.

“We feel we are also duty bound to ensure the prosperity of our country together with others,” he said. – January 25, 2020.