Cooperation deal to be inked at massive Umno-PAS meet

Umno chief says it's for political cooperation and not a political coalition; Fri/Sat rally in KL

In a picture taken on March 5, 2019, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan (left) and PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man pose for a photo before their meeting at Menara Dato Onn in Kuala Lumpur. PHOTO: THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

PETALING JAYA • The stage is set for the inking of a formal political cooperation deal between Malaysia's two biggest Malay-based parties, with over 10,000 people expected to attend.

Leaders and representatives of former ruling party Umno and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) will converge at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur from Friday for a two-day meeting called Himpunan Penyatuan Ummah (Unity Gathering of Muslims).

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said his party and PAS would sign a charter and a memorandum of understanding to forge long-term cooperation between the two parties, which were once nemeses. He said this is for "political cooperation and not a political coalition".

"It will be an inclusive kind of meet where all parties, races and religions will also be invited to be part of the cooperation," he added.

Malay-Muslims form the majority of Malaysia's population, while the minority communities of Chinese and Indians are largely non-Muslim.

A poster for the rally on social media, carrying the hashtag #HPU914, urges everyone to wear white. The meeting is open to "all citizens, political parties and NGOs (non-governmental organisations)", it adds.

Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa said the coming together of Umno and PAS in an organised mammoth rally was the first step in fostering unity among the country's Malay-Muslims.

"No political pact yet. We want to promote political awareness and unity (among the Malays) first. And then, we want to promote true and good values among the Muslims and the non-Muslims," he said.

Referring to Malaysia's opposition coalitions, Tan Sri Annuar added: "We will also have positive engagement with all members of Barisan Nasional (BN), Gagasan Sejahtera, Gabungan Parti Sarawak and Gagasan Bersatu Sabah."

He said that a crowd of "at least 10,000" was expected.

"We are expecting more and we are prepared for all eventualities. We have 1,000 of our own uniformed volunteers - from Umno and PAS volunteer squads - to control the crowd. We are also talking to the police and City Hall," he said.

Despite the rally seemingly centred on Umno and PAS, he said representatives from other ethnic communities would also be invited.

"We will also invite Pakatan Harapan representatives to be part of our gathering. We want everyone to know that this is not only about Umno and PAS," he added, referring to the ruling coalition.

However, Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) president Wee Ka Siong said his party was not part of the gathering. "This (gathering) is strictly a cooperation (deal) between Umno and PAS," he said.

MCA is part of the BN coalition with Umno and the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

MIC president S. Vigneswaran insisted that although he would probably attend the signing, he would be there only as a witness and would not play any role in the deal.

PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the gathering was to formalise the political cooperation between Umno and PAS and to put this down in writing.

"The gathering is a show of strength. The signing of the deal may not be legally binding but it is a show of commitment by party leaders, supported by the grassroots," said Datuk Seri Takiyuddin.

According to those privy to details of the massive meeting, there were concerns that the Putra World Trade Centre would not be big enough to handle the crowd.

"We... are expecting the crowd to spill on to the streets. We are working with the authorities to ensure that everything will be peaceful," said a source.

THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 10, 2019, with the headline Cooperation deal to be inked at massive Umno-PAS meet. Subscribe