DAP moves to remove Hadi for good
The future of Pakatan now hinges on PAS’ party elections
Scott Ng, Free Malaysia Today
DAP’s official statement on the hudud issue is an interesting one. It seems like a few hours in a meeting room has cooled off tempers somewhat, and now DAP looks to outmanoeuvre PAS in much the same manner that the Islamist party has done to its coalition partners.
To recap, DAP issued a statement announcing its decision to cut all ties with PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang, calling him dishonest and dishonourable for working with Umno on the passing of hudud law in Kelantan. To quote the statement, “The DAP has lost trust and confidence in Hadi as a Pakatan Rakyat leader and will end ties and cease to work with him.”
This effectively sends the leadership council of Pakatan Rakyat deeper into limbo, as the balance was already broken by the imprisonment of opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. But for DAP to outsmart PAS, clever gamesmanship is clearly the order of the day.
It’s almost elegant in its simplicity. You see, the PAS Central Committee elections are up in June, and DAP has essentially handed down an ultimatum to all members of PAS still on the fence and those who do not believe in Hadi’s leadership — unseat Hadi from the PAS presidency or else.
This means that should PAS fail to replace Hadi, DAP will likely retaliate by attempting to excommunicate the Islamist party from Pakatan Rakyat, given its affirmation in the statement that it is committed to Pakatan Rakyat. Politically, it is sound as PAS absence may prove to be more of a boon than anything else given the widespread disapproval of its recent hudud move, especially in the urban areas of the country.
PAS cannot afford to lose DAP in the grand scheme of things due to the wariness of non-Muslims over it’s recent actions. For PAS to continue attracting the urban vote, it must not lose its association with PKR and DAP, as the moderates within PAS cannot be relied on to dissipate the worries of the urban voters by themselves.
