The proposal came from PAS central committee member Zuhdi Marzuki, who expressed concern that these seats could be won by Pakatan Harapan (PH) should there be multi-cornered fights.
Zuhdi said PH was able to form the previous government by winning 20 of those 27 seats.
PAS veteran leader Mahfodz Mohamed said the proposal should include Bersatu to ensure a comfortable win by the Malay parties.
“PAS has not given up on this plan to unite the ummah and we have been persuading Umno to be on board with the unity plan that involves all three parties,” he told FMT, adding that this was the only way to defeat PH.
“I agree with the suggestion made by Zuhdi, but we need to include Bersatu as well.”
Mahfodz also said that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had told him that all three parties needed to unite to “save the country from being taken over by PH again” in GE15.
He said PAS would have no problem discussing the proposal with Bersatu, as the Muhyiddin Yassin-led party had been expressing its willingness to negotiate.
The PAS veteran believed that it was still possible to bring Umno and Bersatu together, adding that there were Umno leaders who wanted to unite.
“Not all Umno leaders are bad. There are good leaders who want to save the ummah whom we can seek compromise with. We will negotiate with them to avoid clashes among ourselves, which would only help PH win,” he said.
However, the “Muafakat Nasional seats” plan was shot down by Umno Veterans Club secretary-general Mustapha Yaakub, who said the party did not need to entertain Zuhdi’s proposal.
He said PAS only wanted to “latch on to” Barisan Nasional’s strength since it became aware that it could no longer rely on Bersatu, adding that Bersatu itself was depending on PAS.
“Umno does not have to entertain these theatrics coming from PAS,” he told FMT. “They have decided to be with PN and Bersatu, while we have decided to go solo.
“Therefore, there is no need to talk about cooperation, negotiations and other matters.”
Mustapha also brushed aside talk that Umno risked losing seats to PH, saying the party should brace itself for multi-cornered contests.