Dr M labels Abdul Hadi a ‘traitor’ and ‘kafir’
PUTRAJAYA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has labelled PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang a “traitor” and a “kafir” (infidel) for wanting the party to contest 130 parliamentary seats in the general election.
This means that Abdul Hadi wants to split the Opposition votes and help Barisan Nasional win against Pakatan Harapan, said the former prime minister.
Dr Mahathir said PAS had once labelled Umno as a party of infidels, and it had once cooperated with the secular DAP in the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat.
Hence, he said PAS should be labelled as an infidel party because it is now seen to be working with Umno to split the Opposition votes in GE14.
“He (Abdul Hadi) knows very well he is going to lose most of the seats. But he also knows he will help Barisan win by splitting the Opposition votes. That is his intention, and that is not Islamic. In Malay, we’d call it ‘pengkhianat’ (traitor),” said Dr Mahathir at the Perdana Leadership Forum here yesterday.
He was announcing the inaugural “Harapan Baru Policy Talks” to discuss and debate policy issues, which would start next Wednesday.
“PAS will lose all their 130 seats. But it helps the kafir who are Umno to win. According to Hadi, if you work with a kafir, you will become a kafir.
“At one time, PAS also worked with DAP. This makes Hadi a kafir himself,” said Dr Mahathir.
He said PAS was able to win a lot of seats when it was part of Pakatan Rakyat.
“By contesting it alone, they will not be able to win,” he added.
On Pakatan’s decision on its prime minister candidate, Dr Mahathir said the matter would be discussed during the Pakatan presidential council meeting today.
He would stand by the decision of all four parties in Pakatan – PKR, DAP, Amanah and Pribumi – if he is chosen as the prime minister candidate.
However, Dr Mahathir said his age would be a hindrance should he be chosen as prime minister.
“I am turning 93 this year. Obviously, I am not going to be prime minister until I am 100 years old,” he quipped.
The Pakatan parties have yet to reach a consensus on the choice of prime minister candidate.
Earlier, Dr Mahathir announced that he will chair a weekly question- and- answer session on Pakatan’s policies every Wednesday.