Puad spotlights differing tones by Zahid and Tok Mat on PAS

Former Umno leader Puad Zarkashi observed a significant difference in the rhetoric employed by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and his deputy, Mohamad Hasan, during discussions about PAS at the recent Umno general assembly. Puad claimed that Mohamad's call for a snap election in PAS-led Terengganu served as a test to determine the Islamic party's sincerity regarding its renewed alliance with Umno.

He further stated that Mohamad, often referred to as Tok Mat, seemed to caution Umno against hastily reconciling with PAS. In contrast, Puad described Zahid as adopting an emotional approach, emphasizing the 'blue wave' in the Negeri Sembilan election where the BN-PN coalition secured a dominant two-thirds majority.

Prior to this, Mohamad had argued that Umno should lead the charge in fostering Malay-Muslim political unity, asserting that prior attempts had been misled by others. He also demanded that the PAS-led Terengganu government dissolve the state assembly and conduct a snap election to demonstrate the Islamic party's commitment to Malay unity.

Should Umno and PAS come to an agreement on seat allocations in Terengganu, a similar approach might be considered for the upcoming general election. However, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man rejected Mohamad's proposal, claiming it would impose undue burden on voters and incur excessive costs. Puad dismissed Tuan Ibrahim's objections, pointing out that PAS had never raised such concerns when snap elections were called in Johor and Negeri Sembilan.

Furthermore, Puad alleged that Tuan Ibrahim had endorsed the idea of an early general election. After the Melaka polls, Puad predicted that BN would no longer possess any leverage for the forthcoming GE16, whereas PAS would retain its influence due to the four states it controls—Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis—especially in regions where BN holds no seats.