Mat Sabu warns of Isis-style thinking in PAS
(The Malaysian Insider) – A former top PAS leader is worried that “Isis-style” thinking has infiltrated the Islamist party, and wants the authorities to step in and investigate.
Mohamad Sabu, the former PAS deputy president who left the party in September, described the spread of extremist ideology as a time bomb that was dangerous for PAS and the greater public.
It was also one of the reasons a group of PAS progressives, including him, had decided to form a new party, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
Amanah is now part of the opposition pact Pakatan Harapan, while PAS is not.
Mohamad said the party’s senior leadership might not even be aware of the presence of such thinking, because some members had quietly managed to go to Iraq and Syria to take up arms with Isis.
“For example in PAS we weren’t aware of how some members had gone to Iraq and Syria to fight there. And then we were told that our members had gone there.
“And then there came a story of how Ustaz Lotfi (Ariffin) had died there,” said Mohamad, referring to Kedah PAS member Lotfi who was killed in Syria in 2014.
He said attitudes similar to the terrorist group began infiltrating PAS some four to five years ago, which gave birth to the dangerous “takfiri” culture, or labeling other Muslims as infidels.
Mohamad said the takfiri culture was a big reason PAS had lost many of its most popular and nationally recognisable leaders, who went on to form Amanah, of which he is now president.
“I ask that a serious probe be done by the Special Branch as this is very dangerous for the country,” said Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu.
He said he suspected that an “outside entity” had brought this culture into PAS and that even its current leaders did not know this.
“Is the police unable to detect this or is there a joint conspiracy?
“Have these beliefs simply come into PAS or did someone plan for it to happen?” said Mohamad, adding that PAS’s own enemies could have done it to split the Islamist party.
He said PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang would disagree with the takfiri practice against others.
