PAS leaving Pakatan advantageous to Penang UMNO - Zainal Abidin

PAS' hostility with DAP and not joining Pakatan Harapan will give an advantage to Penang Umno in preparing for the 14th General Election (GE14).

Penang Umno liaison committee chairman Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman said the state Umno was ready to face any eventuality even if it had to face the possibility of a three-corner contest.

"Umno as a party that has participated in the general election 13 times since the country''s independence certainly has more experience.

"We will probably have the advantage of returning to the places we contest in," he told reporters when asked about the possibility of UMNO facing more competition following PAS'' current feud with DAP and also PKR, after chairing the state Umno Liaison Committee Meeting here today.

However, Zainal Abidin said the state Umno must accept the fact that non-Malay support in Penang for other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties was not encouraging.

"If the support for BN does not change among the non-Malays, BN will launch a strategy to deny two-thirds majority so that the state government is not given absolute power to do anything," he added.

In 2015, PAS decided to continue political cooperation with DAP while in the current 63rd PAS assembly in session in Alor Setar, it unanimously passed a resolution terminating political cooperation with Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

-- BERNAMA