Pas leaders may be underestimating the severity of the rifts in the party over its position in Pakatan Rakyat, writes ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR

New Straits Times

IN Malaysia's Islamist party, Pas, while president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has executive power, spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has the affection and respect of many.

The older cleric's appointment as Mursyidul 'Am (spiritual leader), heading the influential 15-member Majlis Syura Ulama (consultative council of Islamic scholars) of which Hadi is a member obviously grants Nik Aziz higher status among the party faithful.

His role of providing guidance to Pas, giving substance to the party's kepimpinan ulama concept adopted in 1982, and his political maturity, having been active in politics for the last four decades, makes him an icon.

Nik Aziz helps interpret party policies according to the Quran and fundamental tenets of Islam, as stipulated by the party constitution. The council's main tasks are to:

- Elaborate, explain and interpret policies and other constitutional provisions, ascertaining their meaning and purpose;

- Issue directives and rulings to ensure the council's policies and decisions are adhered to and implemented; and,

- Ensure that policies and decisions as well as constitutional provisions are adhered to in party activities and administration.

Such is the reality, leaving the frequently asked question of who is the real captain of the ship. Party members are often confused as to whom they should listen to -- the party president or the Mursyidul 'Am. As both leaders control major chunks of the party's nearly one million members, any clash of views between them could be detrimental to the party.

Nik Aziz wants Pas to remain with Parti Keadilan Rakyat and DAP in Pakatan Rakyat; Hadi is in favour of cooperating with Umno.

The rifts are quite deep.

Factions have emerged -- one rallying behind Hadi in support of closer ties with Umno, and the "Erdogans" who support Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim because of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat leader's ties with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"Who is the real authority in the party?" asked Mohd Khairil Anuar Wafa, a delegate from Negri Sembilan, at the party's political seminar last week.

"The president or the Mursyidul 'Am?"

The meeting was intended to strengthen the party's ranks and dispel persistent notions of an irrevocable split between the two clerics over the contentious issues that are putting Pas' commitment to Pakatan Rakyat in question.

Khairil's observation that the grassroots are confused over whose orders they should follow is no small matter.

"We don't want two captains in one ship."

That the political seminar was held in lieu of an extraordinary meeting Nik Aziz had called to weed out "problematic" leaders -- those acting against Pakatan Rakyat -- did little to unite the factions.

The status quo remains, despite the day-long seminar having reiterated Pas' strong stand against any "unity talks" with Umno.

Grassroots leaders still want the party leadership to state clearly the parameters of collaboration; their main concern being the instilling of Islamic principles in a prospective Pakatan Rakyat administration.

Hadi knows that his declaration that "there is no way for this issue (of unity talks with Umno) to be raised again", stressing the importance of strengthening the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, failed to convince.

Hadi, whose one-term leadership was rejected by the voters of Terengganu, has often been perceived as hard-headed. He is viewed with suspicion and even fear by more moderate party members and non-Muslim supporters as well as those in PKR and DAP.

It was noted that his keynote address at the seminar was not in alignment with Nik Aziz's stand that Pas had no objection to being in a formal coalition (a move to register Pakatan Rakyat as an entity is under way).

Hadi, however, while stating Pas wanted to cement cooperation in the opposition pact, also portrayed Pas as a party that could stand on its own. This has been viewed as a message to Pas' allies that the party did not need them to win elections.

Since agreeing to be part of the hastily cobbled-together Pakatan Rakyat, the difference of opinions over Pas' position in the pact has taken centre-stage at two party muktamar (general assemblies), which failed to address the concerns amicably.

Even last June's party elections saw a joust between candidates supporting closer ties with Umno and the Erdogans.

Pas' poor performance in the Manik Urai by-election a month later, where its candidate scraped through with a 65-vote majority, was also a result of factional disputes over who should and should not campaign in the Erdogan faction-controlled area.

According to Universiti Malaya media department lecturer Dr Abu Hassan Hasbullah, support for Pas has been on the decline, with only about 10 per cent of young people supporting it; a dangerous indication, as young voters will be prominent in the 13th general election.

Dr Abu Hassan's study indicated that the image and public perception of Pas had plunged since the general election last year.

One shocker in the findings was that most of those who answered negatively among the 41-50 age group were from the Malay-belt states, especially on the east coast, which has always been a Pas stronghold.

Pas should also be concerned that members of its non-Muslim Supporters' Club are getting restless waiting for the party leadership to officially to transform the club into a legal entity as promised, a move with which some leaders are uncomfortable.

There are signs that Umno, which like Pas is vying for the support of the Malays who form 55 per cent of the country's 28 million people, is regaining the lost Malay vote.

Pas needs a reality check, or it could be heading for disaster when, on its own or with Pakatan Rakyat, it faces the people again at the polls.

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Comments (4)

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written by Jit Dharma, November 14, 2009 12:43:11

I'll give Zubaidah's 'analysis' a miss. Wasn't it only 2 weeks ago that Hadi himself who said
that the there will be no unity talks and that PAS considers the subject closed. Give us a break
and go to the devil with your concerns.

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written by Ali Cordoba, November 13, 2009 19:16:47

Zubaidah is privy to first hand information from within the PAS leadership. This has not stopped her from being 'clouded' in this article and it has also not prevented her from showing who she is supporting. Nevertheless, the PAS was never a popular party hence the study that its popularity is diving is nonsensical. It is powerful in Kelantan and this is what PAS is....let me write an edito on the PAS and its popularity barometer..maybe this will cause Zubaidah's article to nosedive by itself. .

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written by asguard, November 13, 2009 12:55:23

They better do the checking now before its too late...to gain back the support!

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written by truthbespoken, November 13, 2009 12:53:17

Very clever, Zubaidah. Trying out your last ditch effort to sway PAS sentiments away from the PR official formation which is in the final stages. Good try but you'll not succeed cos' everyone knows you well as a compromised journalist in UMNO's NST stable.

It's not PAS but UMNO that needs the reality check, Zubaidah. If UMNO still doesn't truly change its ways, it is not just any disaster but another bigger tsunami that will come its way! You are not helping them a bit with your consistent clouded prodding...

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