The little matter of trust at stake in PAS’s 60th muktamar

By admin-s On Sep 16, 2014

(TMI) – For a party that is so obsessed with the principle of amanah (trust), PAS is in a bizarre position as the Islamist party has lost so much trust in so little time since Election 2013 when the coalition it is a part of won more federal seats.

But the Selangor menteri besar impasse has put the spotlight on the party’s 60th muktamar next week where the question is about how much of that lost trust it wants to win back.

As PAS heads into its assembly, this deficit of trust is like a wound that splits its upper echelons all the way down to people who voted them in.

Its leaders cannot trust each other to carry out collective decisions. Its partners in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) cannot trust PAS will support their schemes in the states they rule.

Voters, meanwhile, can’t trust them not to sneak in a controversial, constitution-changing religious law when they’re in power.

Although there is much talk of whether party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang will be censured or ousted for his actions in the Selangor MB impasse, observers feel that it will not change the fact that the Islamist party has probably reached a certain ideological limit.

How it behaved in the Kelantan hudud bill issue and the Selangor menteri besar crisis showed that the party is unable to reconcile some of its long-held aims with the demands of working in a modern political coalition.

This muktamar will then be about whether the party has the imagination and courage to transcend those limits.

Leadership problem?

A senior PAS leader did not want to sugar coat the mood in the party when asked about his thoughts going into the muktamar.

“Its bleak,” said the PAS leader who requested anonymity.

The point of no return was when Hadi decided to ignore his central committee’s decision on who to nominate to replace Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim as the Selangor menteri besar.

Political analyst Dr Wong Chin Huat said Hadi’s move undermined one of the key tenets of modern political parties in that they must be predictable and follow certain rules.

Since a president is beholden to a collective decision made by his central committee, he should predictably follow it through.

“PAS under Hadi is so unpredictable, and that is bad. How are you supposed to deal with a party that is unpredictable?” said Wong, of the Penang Institute.

This anger towards Hadi’s conduct is expected to make itself felt in the assembly either through speeches from the floor or a motion of no confidence against him.