PAS HAS NO QUALMS ABOUT GOING IT ALONE
Islamic party to face upcoming polls as 3rd political bloc, says party head
ALOR STAR
PAS has set “Prosper with Islam” as its theme ahead of the 14th General Election (GE14) and it reaffirmed that it has no qualms about facing the polls on its own as the country’s third political bloc, Gagasan Sejahtera.
After writing off DAP, which it claimed was chauvinistic, and the call from the wings to sever ties with PKR, Pas yesterday took a stand to halt any talks with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) because the new political party “lacks direction”.
Before 1,200 delegates in the opening of the 63rd Pas Muktamar and a similar number of those who came as party observers, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, in his presidential address, said the party would face GE14 as the third political bloc, after the Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan coalitions.
“Pas will move on under the Gagasan Sejahtera flag to rescue the country by adopting Islamic principles, but with the kind of approaches that suit our multiracial and multi religious society.
“We are promoting Islamic principles as the solution to all issues plaguing this country. If others could stand up for other ideologies, such as communism, liberal capitalism and others, why should they fear Islam?
“We are not going to force nonMuslims to accept Islam, but we are showing them that Islam has all the solutions to make this country greater,” he said when asked on the party’s direction after he opened the muktamar.
Hadi also addressed other issues, in particular why Pas had decided to part ways with DAP, of which he explained that latter’s chauvinistic ideology did not bode well with Pas’ Islamic principles.
He reminded the delegates that Pas would work only with those who respected its principles and struggles.
During his speech, the Marang member of parliament skipped from touching on the calls for the party to sever ties with PKR and said the party needed more time to decide on the matter.
At the ceremony yesterday, PKR vice-president Dr Shaharuddin Badaruddin was the only representative from the party.
The event attracted many who were eager to get a clearer picture of Pas’ direction and clear speculations now that it was longer part of the Pakatan Rakyat pact.
Hadi’s approach of mature and peaceful politics saw Pas adopting a subtler approach in criticising the government and using hikmat (wisdom) in explaining its agenda to the people.
Pas has since been working with the BN government, in particular Umno leaders on matters, which include responding to the humanitarian crisis involving Muslim Rohingya ethnic in Myanmar and the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355) Amendment Bill, or RUU355.