He said today that the political cooperation between Umno and PAS should be kept “in a folder that need not be reopened”, Bernama reported.

Speaking to reporters while visiting a voting centre here, he said “It’s not that we don’t want to” (cooperate with PAS) because Umno had started the alliance, the news agency said. “Why take the trouble when people don’t appreciate you?” he said, using a Malay proverb to make the point.

Zahid’s comment about the ailing political alliance comes in the wake of a statement by PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man that neither PAS nor Umno had declared the dissolution of the alliance. He said the future of the alliance would be reviewed after the Johor state elections.

The future of the alliance has been in doubt since PAS and Umno leaders held divergent views about admitting Bersatu as a partner, as demanded by PAS. Umno has been at loggerheads with Bersatu, which is a partner with PAS in Perikatan Nasional.

However, other Umno leaders have said the fate of the alliance would be decided by the Umno general assembly, to be held later this month.