Actually, Umno and PAS have been talking since 2006
And that brings us to the final question. So what if Umno and PAS talk or ‘collaborate’ or cooperate or come to an understanding or whatever? Is Khalid Samad (and all those others in Amanah and Pakatan) saying this is something wrong?
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
“Khalid: Abdul Hadi agreeing to out-of-court settlement shows collaboration between Umno, PAS,” reported The Star today (READ MORE HERE).
Khalid Samad is actually telling the truth. Certain leaders in Umno and certain leaders in PAS have been talking since 2006. The only thing is, while the leaders in their ‘personal’ capacity have been talking, the two parties were not ‘officially’ talking. And the talks do not cover ‘blanket’ policies or agreements but are on a case-to-case basis.
Khalid knows PAS and Umno have been talking since 2006
The reason it is like this is because Umno and PAS have been enemies for so long it would take time for the ice to melt and for the trust to build up. In fact, PAS is able to work with DAP more than it could work with Umno. And the same goes for Umno: it could work with DAP more than it could work with PAS.
It is ironical that Umno, PAS and DAP were all enemies with one another, but PAS and Umno could work with DAP but not with each other. And that was why the talks between Umno and PAS since 2006 were informal or off the record and on a case-to-case basis.
For example, when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad wanted to oust Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in 2006, PAS leader Mahfuz Omar (who is now in Amanah) was the one talking to Mahathir (and he remained close to Mahathir until today).
Mahfuz of PAS (now in Amanah-Pakatan) ‘collaborated’ with Mahathir in 2006 to oust Abdullah Badawi
Of course, PAS itself was not officially talking to Mahathir to support the ouster of Abdullah (since it was an internal Umno matter). It was PAS leaders such as Mahfuz and a couple of others who were ‘collaborating’ with Mahathir, as Khalid Samad would put it.
In 2008, PAS leaders such as Husam Musa were in talks with Umno MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah about him taking over as the new Prime Minister (again, it was an internal Umno matter). Basically, PAS would support Tengku Razaleigh’s appointment as Abdullah’s successor. This, of course, was on condition that Mahathir would agree to it. But then Mahathir did a U-turn and backed Najib Tun Razak instead.
Then, in 2013, Anwar Ibrahim arranged talks between PKR, PAS and Umno. The talks were held in London and Saifuddin Nasution represented PKR, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi represented Umno, and Dr Syed Azman Syed Ahmad Nawawi (now in Amanah) led the PAS delegation. The purpose of the December 2013 talks in London was to moot the idea of forming a new coalition of Umno, PAS and PKR.
Dr Syed Azman (now in Amanah-Pakatan) led the PAS delegation in the December 2013 talks in London to form a new coalition with Umno and PKR
So, in 2006, 2008 and 2013, PAS and Umno did meet up to discuss cooperation (or ‘collaboration’, as Khalid Samad says) on various issues. Of course, those were not the only incidences. In over 13 years between 2006 and 2019, Umno and PAS have talked, on and off, about many other things as well. But it was never an official tête-à-tête like, say, North Korea and the United States. It was more like the off-the-record meetings between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
So, Khalid Samad is not lying. What he said is true: that Umno and PAS were or are ‘collaborating’. But they had been ‘collaborating’, if that is the word Khalid chooses to use, for a long time now, long before Amanah, PPBM or Pakatan Harapan (or even Pakatan Rakyat) were formed and when Khalid, Husam, Mahfuz, and a few others, were all still in PAS.
And that brings us to the final question. So what if Umno and PAS talk or ‘collaborate’ or cooperate or come to an understanding or whatever? Is Khalid Samad (and all those others in Amanah and Pakatan) saying this is something wrong?
Anwar Ibrahim organised the December 2013 talks in London to discuss the possibility of Umno, PKR and PAS forming a new coalition or unity government
The way all these people are talking it is as if Umno and PAS sitting down at the same table is a mortal sin that is punishable by death. Can they first of all explain what is the crime in Umno and PAS talking? In what way does it violate Islam or go against the Quran? Once that has been established we can discuss the ‘mortal sin’ of Umno and PAS sitting at the same table.
Khalid, Husam, Mahfuz, and many more who used to be in PAS and are now in Amanah or Pakatan Harapan, know that Umno and PAS have been talking on an issue-per-issue or case-to-case basis since 2006. In fact, Khalid, Husam, Mahfuz, Syed Azman, etc., were active participants in those talks. So what’s the issue here?
The best response from PAS should be: yes, we are talking with Umno and have been talking with Umno for more than ten years. So what? What’s wrong with talking to Umno when we also talk to PKR, DAP, PRM, PPBM and many more?
Hadi should just respond: yes, PAS was and is talking to Umno, so what?
The thing is, these Pakatan people like to scream, “Ha! PAS is talking to Umno!” But then they do not explain what is wrong with PAS talking to Umno. Don’t just tell us that PAS is talking to Umno. Also tell us what is wrong with PAS talking to Umno.
And even some PAS people terpedaya.
“Alamak! PAS dengan Umno bersubahat!”
Then, when you ask them, “Apa salah kalau PAS dengan Umno bersubahat?”
They will reply, “Ah ah lah. Apa salahnya?”
Exactly. Apa salahnya kalau Umno dengan PAS duduk satu meja untuk membincangkan isu kepentingan ummah?
