PAS leaders must meet now, not August 10, says Youth chief
(The Malaysian Insider) – PAS Youth wants its central leadership to expedite a central committee meeting to discuss its position on the Selangor menteri besar issue and its existence in Pakatan Rakyat, which have become subject of much speculation after a leaked WhatsApp message among its leaders.
Youth chief Suhaizan Kayat (pic) said failure to resolve the issues would only allow Umno to capitalise on the situation, urging the party to bring forward its meeting which has been scheduled for August 10.
“We call for the PAS central meeting to be held immediately. August 10 is too late to manage the crisis happening right now. Malaysians are watching how PAS deals with its internal problems,” he said in a statement today.
PAS could not hide and be in denial over the crisis, which he said was serious as it exposed the differences in opinion within the party and Pakatan.
“PAS cannot suffer from denial syndrome. The fact is, PAS faces an acute crisis now,” he added.
The Islamist party is caught in the Selangor crisis following PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s support for embattled Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim. Khalid’s party, PKR, wants to replace the MB while Hadi disagrees with the decision.
PKR initiated the “Kajang move” to replace Khalid after numerous complaints against the two-term MB for running the state unilaterally without consulting PKR as well as the national Pakatan leadership.
To add fuel to the fire, a screenshot of a WhatsApp message in which a central committee member had discussed the possibility of leaving PR and joining Umno to form a unity government, was leaked causing further rift within Pakatan parties.
PAS’s research centre operations director Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki had also said in the message that should DAP, churches and non-Muslims bring up issues concerning the use of the word “Allah” and the seizure of the Bibles by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department, PAS-Umno would be able to check their complaints.
