Pemuda PAS wants party to review its position in Pakatan
(MM) – Pemuda PAS yesterday unanimously agreed to push a motion at the party’s 59th Muktamar or general assembly, seeking a review of their position in the three-way Pakatan Rakyat partnership.
The motion outlined five thrusts aimed at improving on the tahaluf siyasi principle, which was laid out by the powerful Syura council to govern PAS’ political partnership with PKR and DAP.
Seeking to improve on the tahaluf siyasi, the motion is seen as a response to alleged discrimination against PAS in Penang as claimed by delegates in the Pemuda and Ulama wings today.
Penang delegate Mohd Shafirul Rozali said that it is unfortunate to see the principle being sidelined by some within the opposition coalition, from issues of governance in PR-ruled states to the matter of seat allocation in the national polls.
“We don’t want to pick a fight with anyone, and we want to be friends with all, be it Malay, Chinese or Indian.
“The issue, however, is that after the Syura council introduced tahaluf siyasi, there are some who did not understand it, paid it no heed and considered it a small matter,” Mohd Shafirul said when tabling the motion.
The motion seeks to get the party to agree to push for a coordinating committee to be set up in all PR-ruled states to oversee the implementation of tahaluf siyasi, and also make it compulsory for PR to get the nod from the relevant state or division PAS leadership before appointing PAS members to any government post.
The motion also wants the party to take strict disciplinary action against PAS members that betray their allegiance to the party or go against party agenda while holding public office, establish a leadership academy to train PAS members as government officials and to have a periodic review and update of the principles and guidelines of the PR partnership formula by the Syura council.
A Selangor delegate, Abdul Muhiz Mohammad, said when debating the motion that PAS members must never lose sight of the reason they agreed to the implementation of tahaluf siyasi.
He said that Islam should always be their guiding light in navigating their foray into politics, and Islamic principles should be their reference when looking at developing the power-sharing formula in the PR coalition.
Abdul Muhiz singled out “complaints” raised earlier by delegates from Penang, who claimed that their rights were not respected despite being part of the ruling government.
“I believe many of us decided to go into politics for Islam and to be closer to Allah. But this concept of tahaluf would be difficult to manage if we do not even understand what it is that can negate our fast and solat,” he said, referring to the Muslim daily prayers.
