Hadi wanted unity govt with Umno, claims Husam

(The Star) – PAS president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang had admitted wanting to cooperate with Umno during the Selangor mentri besar crisis last year, claims Datuk Husam Musa.

The former PAS vice-president said Hadi had confessed to his plans when confronted by several party leaders.

“Let’s all be clear about this. Our president has admitted offering two to three individuals from PKR to join PAS … and when they had the numbers, they would have formed a unity government with Umno in Selangor.

“The president himself admitted this when confronted by many people. What does this mean? This means he already had the intention (to work with Umno),” Husam told a ceramah in Kota Baru on Thursday night.

He said this was the reason that the Islamist party now appeared to be divided.

“I ended up like this, Mat Sabu (former PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu) ended up like this, all because of this conspiracy,” he said.

Mohamad, along with other former leaders, left PAS following their defeat in the party polls last June and set up Parti Amanah Negara.

“I am saying this openly, if the president thinks this is not the truth, let him deny. If he asked me why I told the public about this, I would ask him back, ‘Why did you do it?'” said Husam.

The long-term Salor assemblyman said Hadi’s plans to forge a unity government with Umno fell through after the PKR assemblymen informed their party about the matter.

Husam said the late PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat had also said it was ‘haram’ (sinful) to cooperate with Umno.

“But if they insist in working with Umno, just say so. Call the muktamar (general assembly) and bring it to the central committee,” he said.

He said despite objection from the party grassroots, Hadi has not given up on the idea of working with Umno.

This time, Husam claimed, he wants to act as an adviser to the government.

“The government already has 39 ministers in the cabinet. They cannot appoint more as the portfolios would overlap.

“That is why some were appointed to become advisers, who will be on the same level as ministers,” he said.

Husam added that this would be the perception of Hadi as he has not made it clear with regard to working with Umno.

Hadi had reportedly said that PAS did not want to bring Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak down, but merely wanted to “advise” the government on its policies.

Husam also criticised PAS for cooperating with Malay-rights NGO Perkasa, saying that this has caused confusion among party members.

“Some have asked: is PAS an Islamist party or a Malay party?” he said.

On Oct 13, Hadi and Perkasa chief Datuk Ibrahim Ali said they had agreed to a relationship to discuss issues related to the country.

But on the next day, Selangor PAS rejected any sort of cooperation with Perkasa.

“This means that their decision to work with Perkasa was made without the consensus of the party,” said Husam.