Salleh: PR will only work if Hadi is ousted as PAS President
The PAS boycott of Wan Azizah in Permatang Pauh did not take place, showing that Hadi’s support in his own party has declined
(Free Malaysia Today) – Talk in PAS circles was that Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was not going to win yesterday’s Permatang Pauh by-election by more than a 5,000-vote majority, said Salleh Said Keruak on his blog today.
PAS supporters in Permatang Pauh — who number about 12,000 — outnumber the PKR supporters, he said.
The Sabah State Speaker said it was earlier rumoured that PAS would send PKR and DAP a message by boycotting Wan Azizah. This was in retaliation for the Rompin by-election, where PKR and DAP did not show support for PAS.
However, said Salleh, the Rompin boycott was not so much an act against PAS as it was a protest against PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang.
“This is not only because of the Hudud issue but also because of the Kajang Move and the Selangor Menteri Besar crisis, which Hadi did not support, and which dashed the hopes of Dr Wan Azizah becoming the new Selangor Menteri Besar,” wrote Salleh today.
PKR and DAP will not be able to work with PAS as long as Hadi remains President.
The supposed PAS boycott of Permatang Pauh did not materialise and this does not bode well for Hadi, said Salleh, as it showed that not all PAS members are behind him.
“Most in PAS did not support the boycott and continued to support PKR. That was why Dr Wan Azizah won with a higher majority than expected.”
(Wan Azizah won with an 8,841 majority).
The reduced support for Hadi would probably “be more visible next month during the PAS party elections when it is expected that Hadi will face a challenge for the party leadership,” said Salleh.
The future of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) depends on the three coalition members working together towards the same goals.
This solidarity will remain elusive unless PAS gets a new President.
In short, the future of PR boils down to PAS ousting Hadi “and replacing him with someone more acceptable to PKR and DAP.”
“It would be impossible for PAS to retain Hadi unless it wants to remain an Opposition party forever. So Hadi might be ousted so that PAS can move forward and realise its dream of becoming the federal government,” he said.
Paranoia about 1MDB
Meanwhile, Salleh also touched on the hot-button subject of 1MDB, offering an unusual perspective.
In yesterday’s blog post, he said that Malaysians were getting too paranoid about 1MDB.
This was in relation to the recent revelation that Tabung Haji bought an asset from the government-owned strategic investment company.
All hell is breaking loose because of this, said Salleh, but perhaps this is an overreaction.
“Tabung Haji has for years been investing in various instruments, property included, to ensure that the depositors’ money grows. Idle money depreciates so money must be made to work for it to appreciate.
“For more than 50 years this has never been an issue. But now that Tabung Haji is said to have purchased an asset from 1MDB, all hell is breaking loose.
“Is the Tabung Haji purchase of this asset a bad purchase or is the objection mainly because it is said to be purchasing the asset from 1MDB?”
