KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 19): MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said today that the proposed UMNO-PAS merger goes against Barisan Nasional's (BN) spirit of unity, because BN and Islamist party PAS' core values and ideologies are different.

Wee told reporters outside Parliament that BN’s spirit is about working together with different races.
 
“Please give some respect to MCA and other components parties that are still in BN. This is an open invitation to our rival party [PAS], and we (have) already stated so many times that our core value and ideology is different.

[You cannot do that] unless you have already stepped out [of the coalition] and you form another merger with another party," he said.

He said "BN’s spirit is about working together with different races. Now, [the approach on the proposed UMNO-PAS merger] is saying that non-Muslims are not important anymore… then why are we talking about the spirit of coalition?"

Wee said the BN central executive committee is due to have a meeting on Dec 2, and any proposal on the coalition’s move will be discussed and decided then. 

Yesterday, Bernama reported UMNO and PAS will create a special committee very soon to find a common stand in their struggle to achieve the Malay and Islamic agenda in the country.

BN chairman and UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was quoted as saying said the special committee was also being created to implement social programmes involving the two Malay parties.

"Through the committee, UMNO will also organise gatherings concerning issues on the Malays and Islam in every state to promote cooperation between the two parties and boost sentiments of the Malays and Muslims.

"We hope that through this committee, we can work together as an opposition coalition to protect the Malay agenda and Islam in this country,” Zahid said during an UMNO gathering in Kuala Selangor.