KOTA KINABALU, Sept 11 -- PAS has decided to defer to its allies in Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Barisan Nasional (BN) after failing to get any seats to contest in the upcoming Sabah state election because it wants to avoid clashes among component parties, said party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

He said PAS was doing this to maintain the cooperation it had forged with its partners and also after considering future political implications.

"The priority of PAS is preparations for the 15th general election, which is expected to be held in the near future, apart from its commitment to strengthen cooperation in Muafakat Nasional and PN,” he said in a statement today.

He said PAS respected the decisions of its allies in PN and BN to contest in all 73 seats in the Sabah state polls after negotiations on seat distribution were completed.

PAS contested in eight parliamentary and 16 state seats in Sabah in the last general election in 2018 but lost all.

Earlier, PAS had expressed its intention to contest in about 10 seats in the Sabah state election, nominations for which will be held tomorrow and polling on Sept 26.

-- BERNAMA