PETALING JAYA: Umno has given PAS the cold shoulder over electoral cooperation in the upcoming national polls despite several attempts by the Islamist party to mend ties.

       Terengganu PAS commissioner Datuk Husain Awang said they had reached out twice but Umno leaders in the state said they were “too busy”.

       “We tried to organise meetings and propose political cooperation but all our efforts have not been successful so far.

       “Umno leaders informed us that they were busy with their own engagements despite two attempts to reach out to them,” Husain was quoted as saying by Astro Awani yesterday.

       Presently, PAS has 23 out of 33 seats, a two-thirds majority, in the state assembly while the remaining 10 seats are held by Umno.

       There are 32 elected seats in the Terengganu state assembly.

       According to Article 27(2) of the state constitution, if there is no elected women or non-Muslim representatives, the assembly could appoint up to four people.

       On December 2018, Kuala Terengganu PAS Dewan Muslimat secretary Zuraida Md Noor was appointed as the first woman assemblyman in the state.

       On Thursday, Besut Umno chief Nawi Mohamad told a news portal that Umno would contest all 32 seats in the coming general election.

       Nawi said Terengganu Umno had decided not to be a part of the Muafakat Nasional charter with PAS.

       “We decided to leave Muafakat, so there is no need to discuss the division of seats,” he said.

       In April last year, Terengganu Umno chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Said said the charter was dead and that Umno would contest in all seats.

       The charter for political cooperation was signed between Umno and PAS in 2019.

       However, ties between both parties worsened after the Islamist party officially joined Perikatan Nasional in August 2020.

       Umno-PAS ties took a bigger hit when the two parties clashed in multiple seats during the Melaka polls last November and the Johor state election in March.