PAS ulama begin open battle with pro-Pakatan PasMa
Call for disciplinary action against liberals and anti-Hadi faction
(Free Malaysia Today) – An open battle has now broken out between religious scholars and pro-Pakatan Rakyat liberals of PAS for control of the Islamist party, with the ulama council calling for disciplinary action to be taken against those in the PasMa wing.
The acting head of the ulama council, Kelantan menteri besar Ahmad Yakob, also called for an investigation and disciplinary action over a purported campaign to overthrow party president Abdul Hadi Awang.
In his opening speech at the Multaqa Ulama Semalaysia this morning, Ahmad said a special committee, independent of the party’s central committee, be formed to investigate the claim.
Two weeks ago, members of PAS Kuantan held a demonstration at party headquarters demanding the resignation of election director Hatta Ramli, whom they alleged to be the mastermind of a plot against Hadi.
The demonstration brought into the open simmering tensions between the conservative ulama faction and the so-called “Erdogans” and the liberal movement Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia for control of the party.
PasMa is seen to be in favour of solidarity with the party’s secular-minded political partners in the opposition Pakatan Rakyat alliance, while the conservative ulama have been critical of the DAP for opposing Kelantan’s plans to implement the hudud Islamic penal code in Kelantan.
Some in PAS have urged Kelantan to concentrate on its administration of the state instead of pressing for hudud, which would be a divisive issue at elections.
