Hadi rebuffed Muslim Brotherhood’s olive branch with Anwar, says source

A Muslim Brotherhood representative from Qatar had sought to mend ties between the former Pakatan Rakyat allies, to strengthen the voice of Muslim leaders on the international stage on issues affecting Muslims. This included the plight of the Palestinians.

(FMT) – PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang rebuffed efforts by the Muslim Brotherhood to broker peace between him and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in the aftermath of the 15th general election, says a source in the know.

The source, who declined to be named, said a Muslim Brotherhood representative from Qatar had sought to mend ties between the former Pakatan Rakyat allies, to strengthen the voice of Muslim leaders on the international stage on issues affecting Muslims.

This included the plight of the Palestinians.

“Hadi is influential among Muslim scholars while Anwar is close to Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s bloc,” he said, referring to the Turkish president.

The source said the Muslim Brotherhood’s representative came to Malaysia twice to bring Hadi and Anwar to meet but was unsuccessful.

“They believe it (Anwar and Hadi’s rivalry) is a loss (to the Islamic world) so they tried to broker peace but their efforts were rejected by Hadi.”

The source said Hadi detailed his reasons for not wanting to meet Anwar in a lengthy letter, with the key reason being the Marang MP’s refusal to mend ties with him.

Anwar’s PKR and Hadi’s PAS were part of the now defunct Pakatan Rakyat, which also included DAP between 2008 and 2015.

After the coalition’s break-up, PKR and DAP formed Pakatan Harapan (PH) along with Amanah, a splinter of PAS.

The source did not disclose if the Muslim Brotherhood’s “peacemaking” efforts involved bringing PAS into the unity government.

FMT has reached out to Hadi and Anwar’s offices for comment.

In an interview with Time Magazine in October, Anwar said the door was open to PAS should it decide to join the PH-led unity government.