PAS has barred members from making public statements regarding the party’s current issue with Bersatu unless with explicit permission by the party.
In a statement today, PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said that members should leave “it” to the party president and central leadership.
He said that members must not comment on current developments involving other parties through any media or communication channels without the party’s express authorisation.
The order comes after PAS president Tan Sri Tuan Guru Abdul Hadi Awang publicly declared that Pas would re-evaluate its cooperation with Bersatu, citing a series of grievances that had displeased the party.
“We are not disappointed with Bersatu, but we are choosing to be patient; however, patience has its limits,” Ustaz Hadi said during a press conference in Marang, Terengganu, today.
He listed several actions by Bersatu that he claimed violated the spirit of camaraderie within the Perikatan Nasional coalition.
These grievances included the dismissal of several Bersatu leaders, such as Kedah state executive councillors and Kelantan state legislative assembly deputy speaker Datuk Mohamed Farid Mohamed Zawawi, without what Pas considers sufficient justification.
Ustaz Hadi also accused Bersatu of blocking the admission of new Malay-Muslim parties into Perikatan Nasional (PN).
The PAS President further noted that he could not accept the decision by two Bersatu assemblymen in Negri Sembilan to withdraw their statutory declarations supporting Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun.
He questioned why the Bersatu assemblymen withdrew their support when Umno, which holds 14 state seats, chose not to do so.
Regarding past election cycles, Hadi alleged that Bersatu had demanded a high number of seats but deployed far too few workers on the ground, leaving the Pas machinery to carry the brunt of the workload.
While the party has stopped short of setting a deadline for a formal split, Hadi made it clear that Pas is choosing to be patient but warned that such patience has its limits.
As part of this re-evaluation, the party’s Syura Ulama Council, election committee, and research division have been tasked with reviewing Bersatu’s conduct and actions.
PAS also confirmed it sent a formal letter to Bersatu on May 9 and raised these ongoing issues during a PN meeting.
In response, Bersatu information chief Datuk Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz said that the party views Hadi’s remarks seriously and will raise the matter at its upcoming political bureau and supreme leadership council meetings.
Tun Faisal added that Bersatu believes every matter raised should be examined
comprehensively in the spirit of shared responsibility to strengthen the unity of PN.
Despite the visible friction, both sides have stopped short of signaling an imminent collapse of the coalition.
Ustaz Hadi said he was confident PN’s strength ahead of the next general election would remain intact.
He said that PAS is the main driver of PN and that its leadership has the right to determine the coalition’s direction in the upcoming election. – source NST
