ALOR STAR: Malaysia will step backward if Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s opposition pact is given the mandate to rule the country in the 14th General Election (GE14).
Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang stressed that Malaysia would be taking a step backward as the DAP-led four-party opposition pact wished to appoint the former premier to lead Putrajaya before the number one post is handed over to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“Even if Dr Mahathir hands over the post (Prime Minister) to Anwar, it is still a step backward because both leaders had worked together in the Federal government and Umno before they joined the opposition.
“We (Pas) also find it hard to work with Pakatan Harapan because PKR and DAP had conspired to bring down Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, a corporate figure who had successfully managed the state’s finances but was accused of being a filthy person.
“Khalid told us that he refused to entertain the demand from certain quarters to hand them money because all the money belonged to the people and each ringgit spent must be accounted for.
“I had informed this to the late Pas spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat and at that time, he agreed with Khalid’s stand and that was the reason Pas defended Khalid from the attempt to bring him down.
“However, Khalid was eventually removed following the Kajang move (by PKR),” Hadi said in his speech while campaigning in Anak Bukit here late yesterday.
Hadi was referring to the Kajang state seat by-election following the sudden resignation of Lee Chin Chen in January 2014, less than a year after winning the seat in GE13 which was held on March 2013.
The “Kajang move” was criticised for its apparent abuse of the democratic process which saw PKR president, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who was then in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in Penang, contesting the Kajang seat.
Wan Azizah’s win sparked the Selangor political crisis when Khalid refused to budge despite demands from his party to relinquish the Menteri Besar’s post, which led to his expulsion from office and the post and he was succeeded by PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.
On Dr Mahathir’s remarks that Hadi is a ‘munafik for allegedly working with Umno, he said the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman should consult a mufti first before branding him as ‘munafik’.
“Munafik” is an Islamic term, he (Dr Mahathir) is not an Islamic cleric. If you ask him about medical terms, he is entitled to make comments.
“It is wiser for me not to respond until he consults a mufti with deep religious knowledge, so that the definition is accurate,” he said.
Hadi also denied that he had ever accused anyone as “kafir” (infidel) due to differing political stands. What I said was merely referring to the “iman” and “kufur” limitations among Muslims, that was all.
“Those who propagated this culture of labelling others as “kafir” have left Pas to join Umno. That is why in politics, we are taught that there is no such thing as friends or enemies forever. We are taught that there are limits in being friends and enemies.
“Things are bound to change in the future. That is why I always remind Pas members that there are limits in political adversaries, in Pas we practise peaceful and mature politics,” he said.
When asked to comment on Pas getting weaker in Kedah, Hadi claimed that the Islamic party’s failure to win the general polls was the result of the strategies played by Dr Mahathir when was in power for 22 years as Prime Minister.
“Why was it hard for Pas to win?. It was because of Mahathir’s strategy of using the general election seat boundaries to prevent Pas from winning all this while, but due to changes that are taking shape now, we are confident that Pas will win.
“We are confident because Pas membership is the biggest with the highest number of branches in the country, even bigger than that in Kelantan and Terengganu,” he said.
