DAP is taking the Chinese for a ride
So, what is the real reason why DAP divorced PAS in 2015? The real reason is because PAS supported Azmin Ali and not Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to become the Menteri Besar of Selangor in 2014. DAP wanted Wan Azizah but Tuanku Sultan Selangor wanted Azmin. Hence PAS supported Azmin instead of Wan Azizah and this made DAP angry. All those other excuses that DAP give are hogwash.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Dear Bro, the PAS of yesterday was headed by Nik Aziz, a highly religious and principled person who supported Bersih purely because of the extreme corruption and kleptocracy of UMNO. Nik Aziz clearly said that ‘UMNO is an evil, corrupt party and Malaysians need to work together to get rid of this evil entity’. Today’s PAS is a different story altogether. So the ‘sista’ worked with an entirely different PAS – A PAS Leadership who had religious values, empathy for all Malaysians and an distinct hatred for corruption and abuse of power.
That was the comment by Siew Loon Teoh (pic above) in my article ‘Ambiga, if there is no PAS, there is no Bersih’.
That comment attracted my attention (and I thought I would reply to it) mainly because that is the standard narrative that we often hear repeated again and again by DAP leaders such as Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, etc.
That excuse first surfaced when DAP decided to close down Pakatan Rakyat and form Pakatan Harapan in 2015. DAP was forced to explain the reason why they suddenly wanted to divorce PAS (or close down Pakatan Rakyat and form Pakatan Harapan so that PAS could be kicked out). And that was the excuse they gave — the same comment as what Siew Loon Teoh posted.
Anwar Ibrahim (plus Barisan Alternatif, Pakatan Rakyat and Pakatan Harapan) always proudly claimed that, unlike Barisan Nasional, the opposition coalition works on consensus and if they cannot reach a consensus then they will agree to disagree.
DAP’s quarrel with PAS was because DAP wanted Dr Wan Azizah to become the Selangor MB but PAS supported Azmin Ali
So, how does DAP explain why the closing down of Pakatan Rakyat to form Pakatan Harapan was not based on consensus? It was a unilateral decision not in the spirt of consensus. So they needed an excuse to make a wrong appear right, the same narrative that Siew Loon Teoh gave above.
“PAS of yesterday” was never headed by Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat, as what DAP and Siew Loon Teoh keep repeating. For 13 years, from 1989 to 2002, PAS was headed by Ustaz Fadzil Muhammad Noor, and when he died in 2002 the party was headed by Tok Guru Abdul Hadi Awang — until today, already 18 years.
Nik Aziz may have been the spiritual leader but he was never the party president.
Nik Aziz became the Menteri Besar of Kelantan in 1990 and in 1993 the Kelantan State Assembly approved the Sharia Amendment Bill. This Bill, however, was blocked by Umno (Zaid Ibrahim, in fact, filed a case in court to block it). Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said they would block this Bill if it was ever tabled in Parliament while DAP heavily criticised this move by Kelantan.
It was Nik Aziz and not Hadi Awang who was behind the Sharia Amendment Bill that later became RUU355
Hence the Bill got stuck and went nowhere.
The media then asked Nik Aziz what the position of PAS was against the backdrop of the shooting down of Kelantan’s Sharia Amendment Bill by Umno. Nik Aziz replied that PAS does not consider Umno as enemies. The only differences PAS has with Umno is regarding perlaksanaan Islam (the implementation of Islam).
‘Kalau Umno boleh terima Islam’, then PAS has no quarrel with Umno, said Nik Aziz. In fact, PAS can even close down and ‘pakat semua masuk Umno’, Nik Aziz told the reporters, because there would no longer be any need for PAS kalau Umno laksanakan Islam.
That was what Nik Aziz told the press — and his position regarding Islam and Islamic or Sharia laws was very clear. The fact remains that in 1993 Nik Aziz was head of the Kelantan State Government that was behind the Kelantan Sharia Amendment Bill, which upset Umno, Barisan Nasional and DAP.
But then, six years later, in 1999, DAP decided to form a coalition with PAS — called Barisan Alternatif. Why? If Nik Aziz is supposed to be the leader of PAS and if he was behind the 1993 Kelantan Sharia Amendment Bill, which DAP opposes, why did DAP get married to PAS in 1999?
Kelantan or Nik Aziz never abandoned the Bill. It might have been under KIV but they still intended to one day get the Bill into Parliament (and hopefully get it approved). But in 1999 DAP did not think this was a strong enough reason to not go to bed with PAS.
DAP blamed the PAS Deputy President Hadi Awang when they divorced PAS in 2001 but DAP remarried PAS in 2008 AFTER Hadi became party president
In 1999, PAS took over Terengganu. In 2001, the Terengganu State Assembly (just like in Kelantan in 1993) passed the Sharia Amendment Bill. That same year, DAP left Barisan Alternatif — giving the Terengganu Sharia Amendment Bill as the excuse.
But why? This is only a Sharia Amendment Bill for the state of Terengganu. And this is the same Bill as the Kelantan Sharia Amendment Bill earlier.
Let me make this simple for you to follow:
1990: Nik Aziz became Kelantan MB
1993: Kelantan State Assembly passed the Sharia Amendment Bill
1999: DAP married PAS
1999: Hadi became Terengganu MB
2001: Terengganu State Assembly passed the Sharia Amendment Bill
2001: DAP divorced PAS
2002: Hadi took over as PAS President
2008: DAP married PAS
2015: DAP divorced PAS
Whatever excuse DAP gives (just like Siew Loon Teoh’s narrative above) it is clear that DAP enters into a relationship and gets out of the relationship with PAS not for the reasons stated.
So, what is the real reason why DAP divorced PAS in 2015? The real reason is because PAS supported Azmin Ali and not Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to become the Menteri Besar of Selangor in 2014. DAP wanted Wan Azizah but Tuanku Sultan Selangor wanted Azmin. Hence PAS supported Azmin instead of Wan Azizah and this made DAP angry. All those other excuses that DAP give are hogwash.
