Nasha: I’m with PAS, never Umno

(The Star) – Embattled former PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa has pledged his loyalty to his party, denying claims he intends to join Umno.

“All these claims that I am trapped in the agenda and games of our political enemies are far from the truth and baseless,” Nasharudin said in a press statement yesterday.

He noted that ever since he had joined PAS, which he pointed out was the voice of Islam for the country’s Muslims, he had never, even for one moment, stated that he intended to join Umno.

“I would like to stress, for the umpteenth time, that there is not an iota of truth of my intention to join Umno,” he said. “I am a PAS member, and my struggle to uphold Islam and help Muslims in any way remains with PAS.”

The Bachok MP said his recent actions, opinions and “political calculations” should not be used to make the “simplistic conclusion” that he had plans to join Umno.

Nasharudin has been under fire over his allegations in an interview with a Malay daily that the party was “loose” and had “cast aside” its Islamic principles to pursue political power.

He was quoted as saying that public perception was that the party had not been steadfast on several matters and described this as “dangerous”.

Nasharudin, who was a two-term deputy president before he was ousted by Mohamad Sabu in the June party elections, said the party should be consistent in making its stand on numerous issues and let the president make the decisions, as was the case in the past.

Speculation has been rife that Nasharudin and Selangor executive councillor Datuk Dr Hasan Ali, the former state party chief, would be dropped in the next general election.