PAS' latest stand gives rise to uncertainty, says academicians

The decision by PAS to sever ties with its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) ally DAP but remain in the coalition only serves to thrust the party's real direction into uncertainty, said an academic.

Referring to the motion passed by PAS at its 61st congress or muktamar last Saturday, Dr Mohamad Faisol Keling, who is a lecturer at Universiti Utara Malaysia's College of Law, Government and International Studies, said the party's status and the influence it wielded within PR had now become questionable.

"By passing such a resolution, will PAS, which is supposed to struggle for Islam, be respected and will its views be heeded by the component partners? Or will PAS merely follow the decisions made by its partners?

"Such a stance has clearly given rise to uncertainty over the party's direction," he told Bernama.

The motion, which was passed unanimously without debate during the muktamar, followed a barrage of criticism against PAS President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang by several DAP leaders.

DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng, who had accepted the motion passed by PAS, later urged the party's representatives serving the Penang state government to resign. He also issued a statement saying that DAP did not require the services of any middleman to resolve the dispute between the two parties.

“

Such a stance has clearly given rise to uncertainty over the party's direction

”

- Dr Faisol

Datuk Mahfuz Omar, who chaired the party's motion selection committee, was reported as saying that PAS was unlikely to make a U-turn on the matter, and that it would be futile for Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to attempt to mediate between DAP and PAS.

Mohamad Faisol said the decision by PAS to cut its ties with DAP indirectly proved that PAS could no longer tolerate its ally's disrespectful stance on the party.

He said PAS should have realised earlier that DAP's behaviour contradicted with the concept of tahaluf siyasi or political cooperation between the two parties, adding that even the public could see that the DAP was firmly against PAS' agenda.

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"As per the political cooperation, should the Muslim community follow the orders issued by non-Muslims or should non-Muslims follow the orders of Muslims? Has PAS yet to realise the weaknesses of this political cooperation, despite the majority of party leaders in the Dewan Ulama admitting that there were shortcomings where the party's position and the 'fruits' of the cooperation were concerned," he said.

Mohamad Faisol, meanwhile, pointed out that it would be better for UMNO and PAS to cooperate and work towards uniting the Muslim community.