PAS and Umno supporters attend the Himpunan Penyatuan Ummah at Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur September 14, 2019. — Picture by Miera Zulyana
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Umno’s home at the Putra World Trade Centre here was filled this morning by members of the Malay nationalist party and those of PAS, all jostling to view the signing of an unprecedented charter for an alliance between the two former rivals.
The occasion had required the two natural rivals to set aside decades of enmity born of distrust and betrayal, with PAS going so far as to forgive Umno for the 1985 Memali Incident that had once been considered an eternal barrier between the two.
Dressed in the white that is common among both parties, thousands of Umno and PAS members sat in every available corner of the Umno bastion, creating a sea of people that spilled beyond the confines of the PWTC.
The situation was mirrored on the roads outside that were jammed with cars, motorcycles and buses, many of which carried those who will attend the Himpunan Penyatuan Ummah (Muslim Unity Rally) where the historic union will be formalised.
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