Despite poison pen flyer, PAS’s Nizar says losing post was democratic
(The Malaysian Insider) – Former Perak menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin is a “hundred percent okay” about losing his post as Yang Dipertua or head of the Kampar PAS division, a post he held for 14 years.
He said the recent divisional election results which did not favour him only showed that party members were practising democracy, and believed that this was a healthy trend that would continue when the national-level PAS meets for its highly-anticipated muktamar or annual general meeting in June, when party elections will be held.
“It is fine that they want a new face, after all, I held the post for the past seven terms.
“No drama, 100% okay but this should continue at the top level election in June,” Nizar told The Malaysian Insider in a phone interview.
Nizar, an engineer by training, lost the post at divisional elections on April 12 to Mohd Sofian Rejab, a religious teacher who has been Kampar division’s Ulama Affairs chief since 2011.
While Nizar may claim that his loss was based on democratic choice, the manner in which he was challenged raises questions as to what his defeat could really mean, given his incumbency for 14 years, and also gives a foretaste of how heated the coming national-level party polls could be.
The Changkat Jering assemblyman was well aware of a “poison pen” flyer which was distributed prior to the division’s 27th annual general meeting held in Kampung Tersusun Malim Nawar on April 12.
The flyer titled “Why Mohammad Nizar cannot be chosen as the PAS Yang Dipertua for Kampar” listed several allegations and reasons which included his decision to wear black at the opening of the third session of the Perak state assembly sitting recently. The flyer said this had tarnished the reputation of the party’s Perak branch, as well as that of Malay Muslims.
The flyer also listed his strong support for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR)-friendly movement, PasMa, as well as his support for DAP and PKR, and his supposed involvement as a “mastermind” in making a pact with DAP and PKR to go against the party leadership under Perak state PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria.
Nizar said the allegations in the flyer were a “twist by interested groups all out to oust me”.
“If I challenged them to prove the allegations they would not be able to show any proof,” he said, adding that a complaint on the flyer had been lodged with the PAS disciplinary board and disciplinary committee.
The use of such material to discredit a candidate in a PAS election is said to be unusual and out of character for a highly disciplined and decorous party like PAS, which prides itself on its Islamic propriety.
Nizar denied the flyer’s claims and also defended his wearing black at the Perak state assembly opening as a political move in line with opposition Members of Parliament, who had worn black at the opening of the third session of the 13th Parliament sitting recently as a sign of protest against the jailing of opposition leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar is serving a five-year term in prison for sodomy.
“The flyers affiliated wearing black as a mark of treason with Tuanku, which is nonsense because we had worn the same attire before in previous sittings.
“We decided to show solidarity because we are politicians who behave politically,” he said, adding that in Perak, there were three other reasons to wear black, one of them being to protest the arrest and sentencing to 10 months’ jail for 13 PAS members for their involvement in a 2009 protest against the swearing-in of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) current menteri besar, Datuk Seri Zambry Abd Kadir.
