PAS meeting delay on Selangor MB issue could damage Pakatan, say analysts
Elizabeth Zachariah, The Malaysian Insider
The delayed PAS central working committee meeting to decide Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s fate is just a ploy to drum up more support for the embattled Selangor menteri besar and could cause the opposition pact to go into a tailspin, say analysts.
They said the delay tactic would bring more harm to the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition, which is facing a possible split following the PAS leadership’s support for the second-term menteri besar.
Political analyst Khoo Kay Peng said the extra week taken by PAS would harm the pact further as the cracks apparent in PR would only get bigger if left to fester.
“Of course, it brings more harm. If they do not decide on the issue as quickly as possible, it will open up room for more lobbying.
“More statements will be made by everyone. And it will be very hard to take them back,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
PAS yesterday pushed the meeting to August 17, a week after the original date, to decide PKR’s proposal for Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to replace Khalid as Selangor MB.
“Why are they buying time? I am sure it is not because they cannot reach a decision. It’s most probably because they want to ensure there is support for Khalid,” Khoo added.
Merdeka Center executive director Ibrahim Suffian agreed that the pro-Khalid faction in PAS would use the extra time to lobby their viewpoint in the party.
“That will definitely happen. Those who support Khalid may use this time to rally others to their point of view.”
PAS ulama, led by spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and his deputy, Datuk Dr Haron Din, said they wanted Khalid retained as menteri besar, while the more progressive faction of the party wanted him out.
PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s backing for Khalid has sharpened the divide with PKR, which insists that there was an understanding within the coalition that the head of government for Selangor would come from the party.
Dragging the issue could prove to be harmful for both Pakatan and PAS, said Universiti Putra Malaysia’s political analyst Dr Jayum Jawan.
He said the delay in the PAS central committee meeting indicates that PAS was experiencing an internal problem because of the differing opinions on the matter.
“Some feel PAS should leave PR and others feel they should have a bigger say in the matter (Selangor MB issue). This does indicate there is diversity in PAS itself,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
“Out in the open, the leadership is strongly against the consensus reached by its PR allies. They are dragging the issue unnecessarily as they don’t want to face dealing with it.
The MB crisis, the analyst said, has already put PR in a bad light among voters in Selangor and elsewhere as it showed that the coalition was not able to govern well.
