As various opposition parties begin to corral against BN, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said those who want to court them must be mindful that only "Islam" can rule the country.

"Islam has to be the leader and ruler, those who are not of Islam must be followers (pak turut).

"Let's not place religion and politics in separate corners," he was reported saying in Sinar Harian today.

"Don't ask PAS to cooperate with you, when you will not make any change towards (prioritising) Islam, that is wrong.

"As long as the power of Islamic governance isn't upheld, then those who rule would not care about sin and reward, would rob the people's wealth and so on.

"Only Islam can correct people's (behaviour). PAS can only cooperate with those who are willing to uphold Islam only," he was reported saying at an event in Kemaman last Thursday night, at the launch of the Harapan Semua (Harap) gathering attended by roughly 1,500.

His speech comes amidst speculation that Prime Minister Najib Razak will call a general election early next year, and in the face of a highly controversial redelineation exercise said by critics to ensure a big win by BN at the polls.

DAP bashed again

Hadi zoomed in on DAP, which the Islamist party had broken ties with last year over the implementation of hudud, leading to the demise of Pakatan Rakyat.

"In this respect, DAP clearly opposes the fundamentals of Islam that we champion.

"And there are people over there who follow them," he claimed.

"There are parties who remain silent on this, and who don't seem to have any opinion on this.

"And this is what determines the attitude of Muslims, whether they run the red traffic light, or wait until the light turns green."

Hadi was likely referring to Parti Amanah Negara, who are seen to be on good terms with DAP.

Amanah is spearheaded by PAS' progressives who had quit after they were obliterated from the Islamist party's top leadership in the muktamar last year, after being demonised as lackeys of DAP.

Hadi meanwhile warned PAS members to be wary about such other parties who seek their cooperation without giving the party's Islamic ideals priority.

He said such people only want to use PAS as a ladder to be stepped on, and not rely on PAS as the stairway to change.