Shahril said that he preferred to talk about what the party needs to win over the fence sitters.

“That’s our focus and we’re comfortable with such an approach,” he told FMT.

He also said that while the party’s political foes had the right to attack Umno, including resorting to name calling, it only meant that they did not have much to offer voters.

“But I’m sure discerning voters can evaluate and see for themselves who is capable of offering more.”

Shahril also said he hoped PAS would stop trying to coax Umno to change its stance on not wanting to work with Bersatu in the next general election (GE15).

He said although PAS had stated that it had a strategic aim in getting Umno and Bersatu to work together again, it would be futile.

“We will wait and see what PAS has to offer. Umno leaders have repeatedly said that they won’t close the door to such a proposal. But PAS cannot keep on forcing Umno to change its stand to not work with Bersatu in the election.

On Friday, PAS information chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin said the party would not give up on forging a PAS-Umno-Bersatu alliance even outside the framework of Muafakat Nasional (MN).

MN is a political pact between PAS and Umno.

He said this a day after Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin declared that the party was no longer interested in joining MN because it did not want its image to be tarnished by being alongside some corrupt Umno leaders.

Commenting further, Shahril said Bersatu’s decision came in “too late” because Umno was the first to say that it would not cooperate with Bersatu in the next general election.

However, he said, Muhyiddin’s open declaration had now made it easier for Umno to plan its next political strategy.