Clouds over PAS muktamar

PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang is bracing himself for a fiery muktamar next week that will see his supporters rising to defend him against those critical of his stand on the Selangor crisis. 

Joceline Tan, The Star

THIS has been a difficult year for Datuk Seri Hadi Awang both on a personal and professional level.

The PAS president suffered a heart attack when he was in Istanbul and had to spend more than a month in hospital. He was still recuperating when his old friend and party comrade Datuk Abu Bakar Chik died in a car crash in Terengganu.

Hadi is still supposed to be taking it easy but things have been anything but easy for him over the last one month or so. He has had his hands full, thanks, or rather no thanks, to the Selangor Mentri Besar crisis. It has really tested his leadership.

The charismatic ulama-politician with two wives and 13 children has often been seen as a rather indecisive leader but there is something unusual about him these days.

It could be a result of his close brush with death but he has surprised many people by the way he asserted his will over his party in refusing to go along with the other two Pakatan Rakyat parties to propose Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for Mentri Besar.

Phahrolrazi: Head of an NGO that is seen as PAS breakaway group.

The PAS central leadership had agreed earlier on to nominate the PKR president and her deputy Azmin Ali for the top Selangor post. But Hadi decided to override the central committee decision – to exercise his presidential prerogative, as he put it – and sent in a list comprising only PAS names to the Palace.

There has been a hue and cry over his action and a segment in his own party is said to be deeply unhappy about it. They said that first, he made a U-turn, then a roundabout and finally he is on a merry-go-round.

Hadi, 67, is said to be facing a rebellion of sorts within his own party, hence the storm clouds gathering over the PAS muktamar in Johor this week.

These are unsettling times for PAS and Pakatan and many are expecting an emotion-charged muktamar, heated debates and even some unruly behaviour at the annual meeting.

“I don’t think it will be stormy as you call it, but people will speak their minds, there will be criticism from the floor. It is quite normal for us,” said secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali.

Those critical of Hadi reportedly make up about 35% of the party. This group comprises those who are passionate about PAS staying put in Pakatan as well as those who admire and support Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. They are angry that Hadi does not seem to understand that compromises are necessary in coalition politics.

Zaharudin: The brains behind the young Turks in the ulama group.

However, Hadi still commands the support of more than 60% of the party. More important, he has the backing of the powerful Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and the influential spiritual healer Datuk Dr Haron Din.

His boyhood friend and arch loyalist Mustafa has also stood solidly by him, defending his stand in the party’s central committee which is dominated by the Erdogan group.

Hadi also has the support of an up-and-coming vanguard of young, dynamic and well-educated religious scholars whose opinions are starting to make an impact in the party.

They include his own son-in-law Zaharudin Muhammad, Syura Council secretary Datuk Nik Mohd Zawawi Nik Salleh, research director Dr Zuhdi Mohd Marzuki and Nik Aziz’s son and Pasir Mas MP Nik Abduh.

They are the young Turks in the ulama circle of PAS and they are fiercely protective of Hadi.

This network of young Turks has been moving around the country to meet members and consolidate support for Hadi ahead of the muktamar. They want to contain the situation and ensure that any criticism that erupts at the muktamar will not get out of hand.

They are worried because there has been talk that opponents of Hadi may “do an Asri” on him, a reference to former president Datuk Mohd Asri Muda who was ousted in 1982 during a dramatic muktamar.

They are also worried that some delegates may heckle Hadi when he makes his policy speech on Thursday, the way Asri was jeered before his exit.

Asri had lost support because he was against PAS taking the Islamist road but he was overwhelmed by the rising might of the ulama. After delivering his presidential speech at that fateful muktamar, Asri told the delegates he was leaving matters in their hands and left the venue, never to return again.

The new leadership under Datuk Yusof Rawa ushered in a new era of “leadership by the ulama”.

The irony is that this time around, the rebels are the moderates who find Hadi too conservative and want the party to go mainstream. The party has come full circle.

There is a lot riding on the muktamar, the outcome of which could determine whether or not PAS continues in Pakatan.

Dr Fadzli: Speak openly at muktamar but within the Islamic norms.

Among the topics that will heat up the gathering will be the Selangor Mentri Besar issue and PAS’ place in Pakatan. The Kajang Move that triggered off Pakatan’s downward plunge will be mauled.

The two PAS assemblymen who broke ranks to support PKR will also be in the line of fire. PAS members are very unhappy with their action and even the mild-mannered Kelantan deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah had told people he would have sacked them if he had the authority.

Those unhappy with Hadi will criticise him for not respecting party procedure on the Mentri Besar issue while those for him will slam PKR for insisting on only Dr Wan Azizah for Mentri Besar.

There will be calls for PAS to quit Pakatan and there will also be calls for PAS to stick with the coalition.

Will there be calls for Hadi to go? No one would dare do so.

Hadi is not perfect but his strength is his religious integrity. Any group that wants to take him on will also be taking on the ideological core that he stands for.

Delegates will also question the involvement of PAS leaders in the newly-formed Pasma or Parti Ummah Sejaterah Malaysia.

The Pasma president is Datuk Phahrolrazi Mohd Zawawi, an assemblyman and former PAS deputy commissioner of Kedah and some claimed that it is funded by a well-known PAS politician from Kelantan.

Phahrolrazi was quite candid about the fact that more than half of the PAS central committee members are pro-Pasma and a few of them have spoken on the Pasma platform. But he said he is the only PAS big name in the organisation.

“Pasma is not against PAS. Our objective is to strengthen Pakatan,” he said.

Phahrolrazi’s group is seen as the alternative to PAS in Pakatan. It will be the repository for those PAS members who want to stay on with Pakatan.

Many of them were idealistic professionals who joined PAS after Anwar’s sacking from the government. They are now older and their idealism has morphed into a thirst for more power which they think is possible only via Anwar.

The first indication of the mood at the muktamar will come when the Youth wing convenes. The Dewan Pemuda, as the wing is known, is dominated by the pro-ulama group who are staunchly behind Hadi.

The Youth wing had also asked Youth divisions all over the country to organisesembahyang hajat sessions last week to ask the Almighty “to cleanse the party of destructive elements” and to “strengthen Pakatan states”.

“The muktamar is the right place to speak. If they want to say anything about the president, this is the time and venue but it must be in line with the ethics of Islam,” said Kelantan executive councillor Dr Fadzli Hassan.

Shortly after tasting success in the 2008 general election, PAS had trumpeted the slogan, “PAS untuk semua (PAS for all)”.

By last year, the theme at the muktamar was a rather toned down “Rahmat untuk semua (blessings for all)”.

The theme this year is more inward-looking – “Terus beristiqamah”. It means to be steadfast, to continue in the right direction.

The original venue for the muktamar was an upmarket shopping mall in Johor Baru. It was to signal the party’s aspirations to capture Johor in the next general election. The coalition made huge advances last year, winning 18 out of 56 state seats.

The owner of the mall reportedly changed his mind and PAS shifted the venue to Parit Raja, a small town not far from Batu Pahat.

So much has changed in the last few months, it was not surprising that PAS is reaching back into its rural comfort zone. PAS, said one journalist, is going back to basics.

The new site, which belongs to a PAS supporter, has been cleared and white tents erected for the big day. On Thursday night, supporters gathered under the partially erected tents to pray for a peaceful and successful muktamar.

“It is a challenging time for everyone. But I am very confident Hadi can weather the storm. He will reply and explain everything at the end of the day,” said Mustafa.

It is make or break time for PAS.