KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - The conservative faction of Malaysia’s Islamic opposition triumphed in weekend party polls, which could reopen doors for rapprochement with the federal government, officials and analysts said Sunday.

The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party’s president, Abdul Hadi Awang, retained his post unchallenged while his deputy, Nasharudin Mat Isa, was re-elected in a tough race in Saturday’s internal election.

Abdul Hadi and Nasharudin, both Islamic scholars, have previously called for unity talks with Prime Minister Najib Razak’s ruling coalition - which has upset some party members and their partners in the three-party opposition alliance.

Nasharudin defeated two candidates, who are viewed as more liberal and opposed the talks for fear the party would end up as a lackey to Najib’s United Malays National Organization or UMNO - the linchpin of the ruling coalition.

The party poll results will be a boost for the proposed unity talks and showed the Islamic party does not want to change too fast, said Ibrahim Suffian, director of the independent Merdeka Center research firm.

At the same time, he said there was a clear divide in the party as a large number of moderates who had opposed the unity talks were also voted in. This included two of the three new party vice presidents and 10 of the 18 members of its central committee, the key decision-making body.

"The party remains split. To a great extent, it wants to be able to attract non-Malays and liberal Muslim support but at the same time, it does not want to compromise its" religious principles, he said.

The Islamic party has long advocated a theocratic state with strict religious and morality laws, but has toned down its religious rhetoric after forming a coalition with the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party and the multiracial People’s Justice Party just before general elections last year.

The opposition alliance made unprecedented gains, winning more than a third of the 222 parliamentary seats and five of 13 states.

But the victory of the conservative faction in the Islamic party, known by its Malay acronym PAS, may now hurt ties with its allies and pose a headache for its leader, former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Nasharudin has said PAS was committed to the opposition alliance and ruled out joining UMNO, but kept the door open for talks.

"I will pursue the need for PAS to talk to all parties including political organizations and non-governmental organizations," he said Saturday.

UMNO officials have also backed the proposed talks with PAS, in the hope that it could help destabilize Anwar’s alliance in the next general elections due in 2013.

PAS and UMNO draw their support from Malays who are Muslims and form two-thirds of Malaysia’s 28 million people. PAS has some 1 million members, while UMNO has more than 3 million members.

Analyst Joceline Tan wrote in the Sunday Star that the pro-UMNO group in PAS distrusted Anwar and "has very clear objectives for the near future ... capturing the federal government and claiming the post of prime minister."