Rough weather ahead for PAS?
The fundamentalists have lost out to the young professionals, thus setting the stage for further trouble in PAS.
Thus, the Pakatan-ruled Selangor government often faced obstacles in administering the state, with verbal clashes common among PKR, DAP and PAS on policies that touched on Islam and Muslims.
Zainal Epi, Free Malaysia Today
PAS is heading for an internal crisis following the conclusion of the party election where the young intellectuals aligned to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim won all the posts they contested.
The result caught the ulama group or veteran fundamentalists by surprise as they had managed to ward off the onslaught of the young group dubbed the “Erdogans” in the 2009 party election. But this time around, their “shields” were no longer invincible.
(The Erdogans are named after popular Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is known for his moderate Islamic politics.)
Outside the Dewan Kolej Universiti Islam Zulkifli Mohamad, at Taman Melewar, here, where the results were announced yesterday, many veterans voiced their dissatisfaction.
Two-termed deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, “targeted” by the Erdogans in 2009, fell to party rebel rouser Mohamed Sabu who captured the number two spot with a convincing majority of 196 votes (Nasharuddin polled 224 votes to Mohamed’s 420).
Mohamed, known for his fiery speeches, had even defeated another well-known candidate Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man by a mere 21-vote majority.
Nasharuddin has been marked for “political assassination” by the Erdogans when he mooted the idea of a unity government with Umno immediately after the 2008 general election, where the Barisan Nasional performed dismally.
Islamic ideology
The fundamentalists had put high hopes on Nasharuddin to carry “their flag” as they did not want to be controlled by the Erdogans whom they saw as “following the directives of Anwar”.
The veterans have all this while refused to play second fiddle to PKR or DAP in the Paktan Rakyat as they tried to promote its brand of Islamic ideology in the alliance, which has been rejected outright by DAP and quietly by PKR.
Thus, the Pakatan-ruled Selangor government often faced obstacles in administering the state, with verbal clashes common among PKR, DAP and PAS on policies that touched on Islam and Muslims.
Even Valentine’s Day celebration became a big issue as PAS tried to ban the event, which it said contains elements of Christianity.
While the veterans were beating the drums, the Erdogans kept silent as they quietly planned a “new approach and strategy” to take over the leadership after their failed bid in the 2009 party election.
With the fall of Nasharuddin and the vice-presidents – Sallehuddin Ayub, Mahfuz Omar and Husam Musa – the party is now totally in the hands of the Erdogans.
Abdul Hadi Awang, who won the president post uncontested, is now standing alone and he will no longer be able to dictate policies as he wishes.
With the new line-up, PAS is expected to field mostly professionals in the coming general election, but the seat allocations will be decided by an “outside force”, that is, Anwar.
