Zahid says door for Umno-PAS cooperation ‘wide open’, eyes million-strong unity rally ahead of GE16

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 12 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed optimism about the possibility of a cooperation between Malaysia’s two largest Malay-based parties, Umno and PAS, ahead of the 2016 general election. During the Umno general assembly, PAS leaders were present, signaling a potential willingness for political understanding, or "tahaluf siyasi" in Arabic, according to Zahid.

He encouraged Umno Youth chief Datuk Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh to collaborate with his PAS counterparts and mobilize a million Malay-Muslims for a massive unity rally dubbed "Himpunan Perpaduan Ummah." The statement comes after Umno and PAS engaged in a short-lived political cooperation called Muafakat Nasional from 2018 to 2022, during which they were part of the federal government led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and later Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

Currently, both parties govern Negeri Sembilan together after failing to secure a simple majority in the recent state elections, a power-sharing arrangement that Zahid hopes to replicate on a larger scale ahead of the 2016 election.