DAP or PAS? Azmin Ali has tough decisions ahead
Zaid Ibrahim says that if the Selangor MB “keeps house” with DAP, friends in PAS will be sidelined and new problems will arise come the next GE.
(Free Malaysia Today) – The end of the PKR-DAP-PAS opposition coalition of Pakatan Rakyat has left Menteri Besar Azmin Ali from PKR in a dilemma as to which party he should reach out to, to “keep house” in Selangor.
Saying PKR must decide who their true political allies are, the former law minister contemplated the different scenarios in Selangor, and conceded “it’s a bit complicated”.
Zaid said Azmin had friends in both parties and picking one over the other was going to leave some distrustful and others disappointed.
“If PKR values friendship and remembers the sacrifices of DAP, the late Karpal Singh and many others who have stood up for Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, then they should know whom to choose,” he said in his latest blog posting, adding it was still highly likely Azmin would pick PAS out of gratitude for his post.
He recalled how PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang’s objection to having a woman, Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, as MB had led to Azmin being appointed to the post instead.
He said however that should Azmin decide to go with PAS, it would be a great letdown to the people.
“The people will be disappointed. The people want to see real broad political coalition where all the races work together. They are tired of political games…”
He also said “keeping house” with PAS would mean he had thumbed his nose at Muslim progressives within the Islamist party who had helped him but were now being treated like “political outcasts”.
“What will happen to your friends like Mat Sabu, Khalid Samad and others? Will they trust you if you are still in bed with PAS ulamas in Selangor?
“How do you avoid giving PAS the lifeline in Selangor if they are still in government?” he asked.
