PAS has decided not to join the planned Bersih 5 rally slated on November 19, said the party's secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan.

However, he said PAS has yet to decide if it will allow party members to join the rally in their personal capacity.

Takiyuddin said PAS, in principle, supported Bersih's original demands but noted that the movement now also had other objectives which the party felt was not in line with PAS' approach.

"We have our own methods to be an effective opposition in the country under the current PAS, in line with a matured and harmonious political culture," he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian today.

He noted that some party members may still participate in the rally on their own.

"We have not issued any instructions to allow them to do so or not," he said.

He denied that PAS' refusal to join the Bersih rally meant it supported BN.

"Not supporting one side does not means supporting the other side," he said.

Bersih, which started off as an electoral reform movement, will call for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's resignation over the 1MDB scandal in its rally next month.

PAS is seen as an important party in ensuring the rally's success, as it is capable of mobilising the Malay heartland.