Up to Pas to return to UMNO fold - Tengku Adnan

He said UMNO was an inclusive party which was prepared to listen and provide the opportunity if PAS wished to return to UMNO with sincerity and honesty.

"We (UMNO) are an inclusive party, as mentioned by our Deputy Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) in Sabah recently, that it is not too late (for PAS to return to the UMNO fold)," he said at a press conference here today.

Tengku Adnan responded to a proposal that PAS return to become UMNO's Religious Affairs Bureau in conjunction with UMNO 71st anniversary on May 11.

PAS was born on Nov 24, 1951, when the third meeting of the Ulama Congress agreed to the formation of Persatuan Islam Se-Malaya which had Ahmad Fuad as the first president. He simultaneously held the position of head of Umno''s Religious Affairs Bureau.

Tengku Adnan said UMNO and PAS faced no problems and it was up to the PAS leadership to consider whether the move was necessary for the good of the country, Malays and Muslims.

He also said that he was sure that UMNO Supreme Council members and the party's disciplinary board would also look into the matter.

PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had said that his presence at the launch of the artificial reef programme by Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek on May 4 was the beginning of the politics of maturity between PAS and the Barisan Nasional government.