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KUALA LUMPUR – Two of Malaysia’s largest parties, Umno and the Islamist PAS, have agreed to formally register their pact called Muafakat Nasional (MN), a move that adds to the intrigue over the future of the ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) is not part of the MN.
Umno and PAS announced in a joint statement on Tuesday (October 20) that they had agreed to register MN with the Companies Registry. MN was first established as an avenue for informal cooperation between the two Malay-Muslim parties in September 2019.
Bersatu, another Malay-Muslim party, revealed in August that it was about to join MN, but a meeting scheduled for Monday (October 19) to ratify its entry was postponed indefinitely.
“The leaders of both parties agreed to register MN officially with the Registrar of Companies (ROS),” said the joint statement by Umno and Pas.
The statement was issued by Tan Sri Annuar Musa, a member of the Supreme Council of Umno who is also Minister of Federal Territories, and PAS Secretary General Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.
Party leaders also said Monday’s MN meeting was postponed to comply with the partial closure currently in effect in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya until October 27.
The joint announcement came a week after Umno said he would make “new demands” on Mr. Muhyiddin in exchange for continued support to back the PN government.
With 39 MPs, Umno is the largest component among the NP parties, having only a two-seat majority in Parliament, the smallest margin for a Malaysian government to date.
Umno’s loyalty to Mr. Muhyiddin was further questioned after opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in a meeting with the King last week, claimed that he had a majority in Parliament. But Anwar did not provide the monarch with a list of deputies supporting his candidacy for the post of prime minister amid claims that several Umno deputies were among those willing to switch sides.
The king, Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah, has postponed interviewing all party leaders to verify Anwar’s claims until the partial closures are completed.
A meeting of the Supreme Council of Umno, which was scheduled for Tuesday and was supposed to decide on the government of the PN, was postponed. Current movement restrictions were also mentioned as a reason for the postponement.
Bersatu, PAS and a couple of other parties formally registered the PN as a coalition in September, but Umno chose not to formally join it, reiterating its commitment to the previous ruling Barisan Nasional coalition and also its MN pact with the PAS.
The fragile relationship between the Bersatu-led PN and the Umno-led BN was evident during the recent Sabah state elections.
Despite winning the elections as a joint coalition, both sides celebrated the victory separately and spent more than 48 hours negotiating the post of Chief Minister, which Umno eventually handed over to Bersatu.
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