Dr Wan Azizah cannot be MB because she’s a woman, PAS clergy wing says

(Malay Mail Online) – PAS’s Ulama wing stood by their party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang the Selangor mentri besar crisis today, offering three reasons in the name of Islam for doing so, including the fact that PKR’s choice for the position is a woman and therefore incapable of shouldering the responsibility.

During the PAS Ulama meet this morning, acting chief Datuk Ahmad Yakob pointed out that any decision the party makes, even as a partner in Pakatan Rakyat (PR), must still abide by Islamic principles.

The wing’s decision to back Hadi, who has come under fire for unilaterally deciding to go against PKR and DAP’s decision to submit just Dr Wan Azizah’s name for the post, is for three reasons justified by Islam, Ahmad said.

Firstly, he said, the wing agrees that Dr Wan Azizah’s gender factors into her capability to hold the post of Selangor mentri besar.

“PAS Ulama wing has discussed from the perspective of Islamic codes, the propriety of a woman to hold a responsibility of administration … and her ability to rule,” Ahmad said in his keynote address speech text made available to the media.

He said the reluctance to endorse Dr Wan Azizah was partly because a Muslim will be asked of his agreement to elect a leader in the afterlife.

Ahmad, however, did not verbally utter these justifications during his address this morning, but Malay Mail Online has been given clearance by the wing to publish them.

Secondly, Ahmad explained that the wing felt that outgoing mentri besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim must be kept in his post because he was not proven guilty of PKR’s charges, which saw him kicked out of the party.

“PAS Ulama wing stresses that a change in MB is unnecessary and the current MB must stay in his post,” said his text.

“Islam stresses that the burden of proof of any offence must fall on the accuser, and as long as it was not proven, then the accused stays innocent.”

Thirdly, he expressed the wing’s opposition to the election of Dr Wan Azizah as Kajang assemblyman, saying Islam does not allow any betrayal of the public’s mandate and the waste of resources to hold the by-election.

Ahmad told hundreds of the delegates this morning that the clergy class, which makes up the wing, will stand by Hadi even when faced with brickbats from fellow party and PR leaders.

“Although PAS’s authority is held by the annual congress, but all moves and administration PAS made under the order of the congress must be subjected to the supreme authority [of Islam],” Ahmad said during his keynote address in the wing’s annual congress, or muktamar.

“Therefore, as an Islamic party, every political decision, either in Pakatan Rakyat or elsewhere, must always be based on the source of Islamic laws.”

PAS has been at the centre of an ongoing tussle over who should succeed Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim as Selangor mentri besar, with Abdul Hadi repeatedly stating his opposition to PKR’s plan to instal its president, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as the new mentri besar.

The controversy took another twist when Abdul Hadi reportedly told a ceramah that he had submitted his own list of names to the Sultan of Selangor, proposing two from PKR and one from PAS, though he did not reveal their identities.

His announcement is believed to have circumvented an earlier decision by his own party’s central leadership that submitted the names of Dr Wan Azizah and her deputy, Azmin Ali, for the ruler’s consideration.

Abdul Hadi had then tried to explain his decision against Dr Wan Azizah, openly saying she is “unqualified” to take up the mentri besar post for reasons other than her gender.

The PAS president said the main criteria for an MB was ability and confidence to lead — qualities he claimed the PKR president did not possess.

The wing’s congress—attended by around 1,000 delegates—will continue today, while PAS’ main muktamar will be held in Batu Pahat starting from Thursday until Saturday.