Malaysia's main Islamic party has said it will remain loyal to an opposition alliance, despite holding talks with the ruling party of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, a report said on Saturday. Former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim leads the loose alliance of three opposition parties, including Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), which is trying to topple the government by wooing defectors from Abdullah's United Malays National Organization. That plan looked like it was hitting a major snag after Prime Minister Abdullah and PAS leaders said at the weekend they had held a series of “unity talks”. But PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said his party has no plans to abandon the opposition and join UMNO. “There is no joining with Umno; none. We are also not entering Barisan,” the Star newspaper quoted him as saying on its website. Barisan Nasional or the National Front is a coalition of race-based parties that has governed Malaysia since independence from Britain in 1957. Abdul Hadi also defended his party's talks with UMNO, saying PAS was invited to the discussion. “UMNO gave us the opportunity to raise our grouses with them and so we did,” he said.
