At PAS Muktamar, Pakatan leader sees ‘purges’, one way or another
(MMO) – The PAS Muktamar next month will see a clearout of dissenting members regardless of the eventual victor, with the resulting crisis set to infect the rest of Pakatan Rakyat (PR), predicted a leader from the opposition pact.
The PR leader, who requested anonymity, said although the Islamist party has always struggled between the conservative and progressive factions since 1998 — when the Reformasi movement doubled the party’s membership — its election this year has been characterised by unusual vitriol hurled at those not aligned to conservative PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.
Unlike the closing of ranks that usually follow such internal contests, the PR leader said the divisions were possibly too deep to bridge.
“This year is different. Those not with Hadi are called names and there is a clear intention to finish off each other,” the PR leader told Malay Mail Online yesterday.
“There will be purges beyond (the) Muktamar, whoever wins. I don’t believe that PAS’ internal crisis would be solved with the Muktamar. So there will be twin crises — whether PAS would split beyond muktamar and whether PR would split,” he said, adding that both scenarios may happen at the same time.
There are stakes that extend beyond PAS in the Muktamar, as its outcome will determine if the current infighting over hudud will reach critical mass or be defused in time to prevent the implosion of PR.
DAP has all but said that it cannot continue co-operating with Hadi, so his victory will preclude any possibility of reconciliation between the two warring allies.
The PAS election this year takes place without the late party spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who died in February after more than two decades as the party’s conscience.
Nik Aziz had staunchly opposed attempts to forge a cooperation between PAS and Umno, declaring in 2013 that he would not permit efforts to foster unity between the Islamist opposition party and the ruling Malay nationalist party for as long as he was alive.
This year’s PAS election will also see a challenge for the presidency for the first time in more than half a century, with former vice-president Ahmad Awang taking on Hadi, who is seen as being close to Umno.
