Will Hadi be retained as PAS president?

Bernama

For the first time since he took over the reins of the party’s leadership in 2002, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang is facing a challenge for the top post.

Nominations for 27 central party leadership posts closed on April 30, with elections scheduled to be held at the 61st PAS general assembly or muktamar from June 4 to 6 in Kuala Selangor, Selangor.

While Abdul Hadi had been able to comfortably hold on to his position during the previous party elections, simply because no one challenged him to the post, retaining the No. 1 post this time around may not be a walk in the park for the religious scholar.

A young Turk, in the form of PAS Vice-President Datuk Husam Musa, and party veteran Ahmad Awang, who is former Perak PAS Commissioner, are also eyeing the presidency.

Besides party members, local political observers are also watching the latest developments with great interest, considering that this is the first time in 13 years that the incumbent president is being challenged.

Nevertheless, some observers feel that it might be an easy passage to the 2015-2017 presidential term for the Member of Parliament (MP) for Marang as there is a possibility that his challengers may withdraw from the contest.

However, to date, there has been no such indication from Husam or Ahmad.

Political analysts, meanwhile, view Husam and Ahmad’s nominations for the top post as a clear signal that certain party members were dissatisfied with the leadership.

They attribute this to the leadership’s inability to address various issues, such as last year’s Kajang Move and Selangor Menteri Besar controversy, which erupted after former Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim lost the support of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly.

Hadi may retain post

Although political analysts say that it will not be much of a surprise if the leadership’s status quo is maintained at next month’s party elections, still it remains to be seen if Abdul Hadi is re-elected to helm the party and steer it to the 14th General Election.

Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali, a political science lecturer at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Dungun, Terengganu, said going by the current scenario and nominations, Abdul Hadi was likely to retain his party president post unopposed.

“But if the contest takes place, major changes could occur after the muktamar. And, these changes can be linked to the faction which is unhappy with Abdul Hadi’s leadership style,” he told Bernama.

Che Hamdan agreed that the party president’s failure to contain rumblings of discontent among the grassroots and prevent the sowing of seeds of disunity had led to the challenge for the top post in the party elections this time.

“It’s one of the reasons. But there are other reasons as well, such as the desire to see PAS transforming, in terms of its political approach. Then there are the demands and pressure from its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) allies… all these are making it clear that he (Abdul Hadi) needs to be replaced,” he said.

What’s so special about the numeral

13? Historically, no PAS president’s “lifespan” had exceeded 13 years, and it turns out that this is Abdul Hadi’s 13th year as president.

Call it coincidence, but Dr Burhanuddin Mohd Noor (the party’s third president), Tan Sri Mohd Asri Muda (fourth) and Datuk Fadzil Mohd Noor (sixth) had also held the post for a maximum of 13 years only.

It is now time for Abdul Hadi to prove that he can “break the barrier”, so to speak. But it is not going to be an easy feat, considering the several “hot” issues confronting him, such as the use of the word Allah by non-Muslims, the establishment of Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia (PasMa) and the party’s shaky relationship with its PR allies, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and DAP.

Is Abdul Hadi set to e deposed after his 13-year tenure as party president? Che Hamdan said although he found the historical 13-year lifespan rather interesting, this time around feuding factions within the party were propelling the move for changes at the central as well as state levels.

“Then, there’s the regional factor that has to be taken into consideration… the west and east coast states and the southern states are showing different trends in terms of support.

“Likewise, the support shown by the party members from various classes also deserve attention. For example, it’s clear that the middle-class members want a change at the top leadership. Anyway, the power to decide lies in the hands of the party delegates,” he said.

Impact of Haid’s failure to retain presidency

Should Abdul Hadi fail to retain his post, what sort of an impact will it have on the party, as well as the opposition coalition?

Che Hamdan felt that the Marang MP’s defeat would have a huge impact on both the party and the coalition.

“To me, it should be viewed from two angles – the first being Abdul Hadi as PAS President and most powerful person in the party, and the second being PAS as one of the main opposition parties in this country.

“In his personal capacity, Abdul Hadi is an internationally-recognised religious scholar. So if he loses, PAS will see a shift in its leadership from the mantle of the ulama leaders, who have dominated the party all these years.

“Although one of the nominees for the president’s post, Ahmad Awang, is also a religious scholar, he is supported by a faction in the party said to be made up of professionals. Furthermore, he has been assertive in his bid to strengthen Pakatan Rakyat in Perak, thus showing that he can chart new directions for the party,” said Che Hamdan.

He added that among the most challenging tasks awaiting the new PAS leadership were gaining the confidence of Abdul Hadi’s supporters and forging unity among the party members.

“It’s possible that a crisis may occur if Abdul Hadi is defeated,” he said. Come elections early next month, the delegates will decide whether they want Abdul Hadi, Husam or Ahmad to lead the Islamist party.