Members of Pertubuhan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia (PasMa) will not be restricted from contesting in the upcoming PAS elections.

PAS election committee president Asmuni Awi said the party's members are free to join any NGOs of their choice and are eligible to contest in the elections.

"They can be candidates as long as they abide by the rules and regulations,” he said during a press conference at the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

Elections for office bearers at the divisional level will begin on March 1 while the election of the party's central committee will be held in June.

PasMa, led by former Kedah PAS deputy head Phahrolrazi Zawawi, was formed during the height of the Selangor menteri besar crisis last year.

At the time, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had unilaterally proposed three names to the palace as potential menteri besar, although Pakatan Rakyat allies PKR and DAP had agreed on Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

As an NGO, PasMa had stated its intentions to support Pakatan.

The NGO has grown rapidly since, attracting scorn from PAS' leaders aligned to Hadi, who want PAS members to be barred from joining PasMa.

Asmuni, who is also PAS' treasurer, said that the upcoming election will be crucial as it will decide on whether PAS will continue it's cooperation with Pakatan.

Meanwhile, Asmuni also urged candidates to conduct a healthy campaign and comply with the election rules.