PAS says won’t school Zuhdi for ‘racist’ remarks based on outside talk
(Malay Mail Online) – Action will not be taken against PAS strategist Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki, who has been accused of making racist comments, simply on the basis of complaints from outsiders, a top party leader has said.
Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia reported PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali as telling reporters in Kuala Terengganu yesterday that disciplinary action against the PAS research centre operations director would only be taken based on internal reports.
“We don’t take action based on what outsiders say,” Mustafa was quoted saying.
PAS’s Pakatan Rakyat (PR) allies PKR and the DAP were outraged by Zuhdi’s message in a private conversation between PAS central committee members on chat platform WhatsApp, which was leaked on the internet Monday, that a PAS-Umno pact would be able to quell dissent from the DAP and silence churches and minorities effectively.
Zuhdi had posted a scenario on PAS joining rivals Umno to wrest control of Selangor while retaining embattled Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as mentri besar.
DAP publicity chief Tony Pua said Tuesday that Zuhdi’s remarks were “racist and extremist” and called on PAS to discipline its leaders with narrow views.
PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli has also demanded that PAS take action against Zuhdi, accusing him of making racial and hate-filled remarks.
PAS central committee member Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz was reported by Utusan today as saying that action should not be taken against Zuhdi because he was a victim of betrayal.
“He should prove his innocence instead, and I would support this,” he was quoted saying.
“It’s weak when a few senior politicians from Pakatan ally parties punish him based on the leaked WhatsApp text without looking at the proper context,” he added.
In a Facebook posting on Monday to clarify the leaked remarks, Zuhdi said that at least 10 of the PAS central committee members in the conversation had supported a proposal for the Islamist party to leave PR.
