MALAYSIA: Former United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) strongman Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi claims there are closed-door talks between UMNO and Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) with the aim of forming a formal political cooperation ahead of the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state polls.
He says an initial agreement has been reached between both parties, with PAS not fielding candidates in the Johor snap polls.
This gives way to Barisan Nasional (BN) to contest all the state legislative assembly seats.
“Among UMNO leaders, including Datuk Megat (Political Secretary to the UMNO President), they believe the negotiations will be successful, and UMNO will win big in Johor,” he said in a statement on Monday.
Puad said the matter was also raised during the UMNO MKT meeting on June 10.
He also said he believed that PAS and UMNO are working together in an attempt to score a big win in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan elections, but if they are saying their union is for the unity of the Muslims in the country, then he says it will be doomed.
“However, if the cooperation is aimed at the unification of the ummah (Muslim community), I am of the view that it will not succeed.”
He said other UMNO council members are also of the same view, that is, the parties are ganging together to face the next General Elections.
Some UMNO leaders, he says, are also confident that a working solution with PAS will guarantee a big win in the Johor state polls.
He said many think that it does not matter if former Prime Minister Najib Razak is behind bars during the Johor elections, as a UMNO-PAS collaboration is bigger than what Najib himself would have brought if he were not in jail.
“There are also those of the view that if Bossku (Datuk Najib Razak) is still inside during the Johor PRN, it does not matter.
“This UMNO-PAS cooperation has a bigger impact even though Bossku cannot help with the campaign.
“That is the reason some UMNO leaders became too egoistic and ‘overconfident’. Unfortunately, the UMNO-PAS cooperation failed.
“BN politics became chaotic. It was further worsened by BN’s lineup of candidates who are anti-youth aspiration, recycled, and mediocre,” he said.
Zarkashi, an outspoken political figure, left UMNO on June 25, 2026. His departure followed clashes with party leadership over candidate selection and Johor UMNO’s lack of independence in decision-making.
UMNO leaders, however, accused him of leaving the party because his son was not selected as a candidate in the Johor election.
