KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysia's government stepped up its efforts to prise away an Islamist party from the opposition alliance on Friday, saying it was willing to hold talks without any preconditions.
Some top officials in the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), the second biggest Malaysian political party in terms of mass membership, have recently said that they were open to talks on forming a "unity" government.
"We will not impose any conditions and we accept whatever terms set by PAS. As far as I am concerned, we have to be open," Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin told reporters on Friday, according to state news agency Bernama.
The departure of PAS from the opposition People's Alliance would represent a severe blow to Anwar Ibrahim, the former deputy premier who now leads the opposition, as PAS holds 24 of the opposition's 83 seats in the 222-strong parliament.
The overtures were initiated by PAS at its annual assembly earlier this month after conservatives in the party took top posts.
PAS is the only party able to draw heavily on the crucial majority Malay vote aside from the main ruling party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO), the lead component of the National Front that has ruled Malaysia for 51 years.
PAS, which wants to set up an Islamic state in this Southeast Asian country of 27 million people, works within Anwar's rainbow alliance of reformers and an ethnic Chinese party and has romped to two by-election victories with the aid of ethnic Chinese voters.
PAS has split over the issue of talks with the party's spiritual advisor Nik Aziz Nik Mat criticising the moves to talk to UMNO while President Abdul Hadi Awang, whose faction won the key deputy president post insisting doors should be kept open.
