PAS cuts ties with PKR in Permatang Pauh
Move seen as prelude to PAS battling Wan Azizah there in the next general election, either by itself or in support of Umno-BN.
(FMT) – The stage is set for PAS to openly take on PKR in Anwar Ibrahim’s stronghold of Permatang Pauh following a decision by the party’s division there to sever all ties with the Pakatan Harapan component party at the local level.
Permatang Pauh PAS chief Omar Hassan today claimed PKR had worked to erode PAS’ standing among Malay-Muslim voters in the parliamentary constituency in the lead-up to the next general election (GE14).
He said PKR was also disrespectful to PAS in Penang by not recognising the party as a partner when it chose to continue cooperating with DAP and Amanah who were attacking PAS and its leaders.
“PKR was found to have arbitrarily used some PAS members for its own political agenda without first discussing with PAS,” he said in a statement.
Even more detrimental was the fact that there were complaints from PAS members that PKR had asked them to leave PAS to join them so as to be able to hold certain posts in the state government controlled by Pakatan.
“This irresponsible character of PKR has shown it to be very disrespectful of the principle of friendship and this can adversely affect PAS,” he said.
The move to sever the mutual agreement of “tahaluf siyasi” between the two parties was unanimously decided upon during the Permatang Pauh PAS annual general meeting in Dewan Haji Yusof Rawa hall here today.
The Permatang Pauh seat has been held by Anwar, and his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who is party president, since 1982. Wan Azizah contested there during the times when Anwar, who is PKR de facto head, was imprisoned over controversial sodomy convictions and rendered ineligible to hold elected posts in parliament.
The seat is now held by Wan Azizah who won a by-election there in May 2015, after Anwar vacated it following his latest imprisonment.
On Dec 10 last year, their daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar, who is PKR vice-president, had called on local PAS leaders to reconsider their intention to contest the seat in GE14.
She said they should focus on defeating Barisan Nasional (BN) instead of questioning seat allocation among the opposition and causing confusion among the public.
The seat is also traditionally contested by an Umno leader representing BN.
The latest move by PAS Permatang Pauh may now see it either swinging its full support for Umno or contesting there itself in GE14.
Omar said PKR had also failed to defend Islam in Penang, claiming that it had complied with DAP’s wish to interfere in issues regarding fatwa (Islamic decree) by the Penang Fatwa Committee.
“There were several fatwas that were delayed or deferred by PKR and DAP through the Penang Religious Executive Council,” he said in the statement.
On Jan 31, Penang PAS chief Muhammad Fauzi Yusof alleged that the Penang government had ordered that all fatwa go through the state executive council before they are passed as law.
Under state law, the state Fatwa Committee can issue a decree which is to be presented to the king for assent, following which it will be gazetted as fatwa under the state Administration of Islam Enactment 2004.
State mufti Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor later refuted the allegation, saying the Penang Fatwa Committee decisions are final and not open to political interference,
