Consensus needed before BN can join Muafakat Nasional, says Tok Mat
Mohamad Hasan says no decision has been made yet to institutionalise the Muafakat Nasional partnership.
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan says the consensus of all Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties is needed before the coalition can formally join PAS in the Muafakat Nasional.
He was responding to Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki urging for Umno to institutionalise its Muafakat Nasional alliance with PAS and include MCA and MIC, along with other BN-friendly parties.
Mohamad downplayed Asyraf’s call, stressing that no decision has been made by Umno to do so yet.
He said the Umno leadership is waiting for a feasibility report from a joint Umno-PAS technical steering committee, which is expected to be ready by the middle of February next year.
He stressed that the party will scrutinise the pros and cons of institutionalising and including MCA and MIC in the Muafakat Nasional.
Mohamad said a “loose operation” mechanism could be employed to not restrict any parties.
“There’s no such thing as a unilateral decision by Umno to drag in other members into Muafakat Nasional. BN is a coalition where everything is by consensus,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the party’s annual general meeting here today.
He said the national unity charter signed by Umno and PAS was only a framework and did not restrict any parties.
“We’ll wait for the technical report on the future of this charter and it will be deliberated by our respective parties.”
Mohamad had previously stated that the Muafakat Nasional’s technical committee, comprising Umno and PAS leaders, was studying whether the cooperation should be formalised to become a new entity like Pakatan Harapan or remain a “loose, Westminster-styled” political alliance.
Also being studied was whether a formalised Muafakat Nasional coalition would consist of individual parties or BN and PAS blocs.
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BN comprises Umno, MCA and MIC, while Gagasan Sejahtera comprises PAS, Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia and Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia.