Under attack, PAS maintains Islamic agenda party priority
(The Malaysian Insider) – PAS leaders have denied claims by two renegades that the party has abandoned its Islamic agenda, with its deputy president Mohamad Sabu pointing out that an Ulama panel oversees its policies.
National leaders from the Islamic party denied the accusations made by Datuk Dr Hasan Ali, a senior Selangor government member, and Nasharudin Mat Isa, the former party secretary-general, that PAS was deviating from its Islamic struggle, and have, in turn, alleged the two leaders were frustrated over their inability to secure top posts within the party.
Hasan, the ex-Selangor PAS commissioner, has also demanded his party’s top leadership settle the thorny question of establishing Malaysia as an Islamic state with its Pakatan Rakyat partners now rather than later.
The Gombak Setia assemblyman charged that the party had deviated from its original fight, pointing to the shift to push the concept of a “Negara Berkebajikan” at the party’s annual general meeting earlier this year.
Similarly, Nasharudin had, during the weekend, told Umno-owned Berita Minggu that the PAS leadership should not be too preoccupied with the party’s political goals while abandoning its Islamic ones.
He said that PAS was no longer seen as “consistent” with its Islamic image and that it could not afford to continually chop and change “terminologies” to suit its political direction.
“Any decision within the party is ultimately decided by the Syura Council, which is led by the Ulama. How can PAS be deviating from Islamic principles when the Syura Council decides all party matters?” Mohamad Sabu (picture) told The Malaysian Insider yesterday.
“If he (Hasan) has any objections, he should make his views known to the central working committee,” he added.
PAS central working committee member Khalid Samad echoed Mohamad’s views, saying that the concept of “Negara Berkebajikan” does not contradict the Islamic state agenda.
