Pas president backs formation of Pakatan Nasional
MARANG: Pas will support the formation of Pakatan Nasional to bring back the political domination of the Malays and to uphold the sanctity of Islam, party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said yesterday.
“Muafakat Nasional is the first step to strengthen the political position of the Malays and Islam, which should dominate the (political) scenario in a Malay-majority nation where, in the present environment, Pakatan Harapan is not only disorganised, but is fragile and inconsistent.
“It was already fragile when it failed to fulfil the promises made to the rakyat, with each of its component parties producing its own manifesto, which were extreme, and the way it governs the country is not dissimilar to the previous government.
“There is no change, it is more like tikus membaiki labu (a person trying to fix something he does not have knowledge about, resulting in more damage),” he said after his weekly usrah at Masjid Rusila here.
He said although Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was trying hard to win support from the Malays, the support was not strong.
“He may have his agenda, but because of its weaknesses, it’s the people who suffer. We need to make the change democratically and one of the ways is to move a motion for a no-confidence vote.
“But we cannot rush into this. Pakatan Nasional or Muafakat Nasional is necessary and it does not matter what name you use because what’s more important is consensus.”
He said Pas had been consistent in its support for the Malay and Islam agenda, as reflected by its presence at the Malay Dignity Congress, a platform to wake Malays up from their slumber and acknowledge their weaknesses.
“Pas took the middle path in the Muafakat Nasional initiative because we want to restore Malay dignity, while at the same time work with non-Muslims in MCA and MIC and other race-based parties that are not against Islam like DAP.
“Whether in Muafakat Nasional or Pakatan Nasional, we note that Umno has put Islam at the forefront and has been flexible. The impact of these initiatives may take time because we need to look into our weaknesses as well, but what is important is we want to restore Islamic leadership.
“In this respect, Pas supports the Pakatan Nasional initiative.”