KOTA BARU: Pas has blamed Umno for causing the rift between the two parties that has gone on ever since the 2021 Melaka snap election.
Pas vice president Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said this was due to Umno's attitude.
"Umno should be blamed for the tension that happened between us. Umno is a greedy party with some its leaders wanting to control everything.
"During the Melaka snap election, we suggested that the seats be distributed between Pas, Bersatu, and Barisan Nasional (BN).
"BN leaders refused to give seats to Bersatu at that time and decided to give a few to Pas. They want to control everything," said Mohd Amar.
The state Assembly speaker told reporters this after closing the Kelantan 'Membangun Bersama Islam' (Developing With Islam) International Conference 2024 here today.
Mohd Amar, who is the Panchor assemblyman, said Pas could not accept Umno's decision at that time in the spirit of Muafakat Nasional and Perikatan Nasional.
"Because of this greed and their controlling attitude, there's been tension between.
"So, the claim made by Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan was baseless," he added.
On July 8, Ahmad revealed the tension between Umno and Pas culminated during the 2021 Melaka snap election.
Recalling the episode, he claimed that the cooperation between the two parties under the Muafakat Nasional (MN) charter deteriorated after Pas rejected Umno's seat offer in favour of Bersatu.
"I was the Umno secretary-general at the time. The party issued an official statement inviting Pas to work together with us for the Melaka state election.
"We agreed to offer Pas a number of seats, but the party rejected the offer, perhaps because they were offered more seats with Bersatu.
The ties (between Umno and Pas) were severed with that rejection. And Pas did not win even a single seat in the Melaka state election after the party chose to cooperate with Bersatu," he told the New Straits Times.
Ahmad, who is now the Deputy Works Minister, added that Pas could have won at least four seats in the Melaka snap polls and become part of the state government if the party had accepted Umno's offer.
"Umno, alongside its allies in BN, won 21 of the 28 seats in Melaka. That is a 'history' that can't be erased.