Leave us and you’ll sink with your new ship, Hadi warns PAS rebels

(Malay Mail Online) – PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang warned party members today that a mutiny by those seeking new political platforms will not likely end well as these deserters are bound to sink in their new ships.

In an open letter to the party, Hadi urged PAS members to stay loyal to the Islamic struggle, and to stand by the congregation that is founded on the basis of the Islamic faith.

“Those who follow PAS’s journey or read its history would see the twists and turns of its struggle, and the fall of even its highest leaders, ordinary members or even supporters, sinking either alone or along with the party or group that became their ship,” Hadi said.

The PAS leader said there are two aspects to the Islamic struggle — faith in the struggle, and the method used to spread Islam to the world.

“The failure to understand these will cause some to be disappointed and left behind in the middle of this struggle, because they cannot appreciate them,” said Hadi.

Over the years, PAS has seen two splinter parties formed by its former leaders, the Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia and Parti Hizbul Muslimin Malaysia.

During the party’s elections early this month, the ulama trounced party progressives in a near-total takeover of PAS, winning 22 out of the 23 posts open for contest in the Islamist party’s central working committee.

Former PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu and other PAS leaders who lost have since confirmed ongoing talks on the possible formation of a new political party.

Lobby group Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia (PasMa) had announced this month that it will lead efforts to recruit members for the new party to replace PAS.

PasMa chief Datuk Phahrolrazi Zawawi said that the ideology of the new party will be similar to that of PAS before it severed ties with DAP, with emphasis on protecting the rights of all while practising a policy of inclusivity.