(The Star) - Embattled PAS leader Datuk Dr Hasan Ali has continued his tirade against the party, saying that it has lost sight of the Malays since coming under the Pakatan Rakyat banner.

He said PAS had veered away from its fundamental role as a defender of Islam.

“In the rush to take over Putrajaya, we may end up forgetting our core group of supporters the Malays,” he said in an hour-long interview on TV3's Soal Jawab.

Dr Hasan said the party's current crop of leaders reflected an imbalance in representation between the ulama and professional groups.

He added the ulama-professional ratio in the party's leadership when he first joined the party stood at around 70:30, but it was now the other way round with professionals forming the majority on the party's powerful central working committee.

Dr Hasan, who is the Selangor state executive councillor in charge of Islamic affairs, Malay customs, infrastructure and public amenities, said this situation “will influence” the party's direction, as professionals were prone to rationalising options as opposed to the ulama group's tendency to stay true to Islamic principles.

Dr Hasan added that a victory for Pakatan and by extension PAS in the next general election would be meaningless under the current arrangement if nothing was done to uphold the place of Islam, the Malays and the royal institution, three issues which he said formed the core of his political struggles.

Dr Hasan sidestepped a question on whether or not he would leave PAS as widely speculated, choosing instead to quote a verse from the Quran to say that he left it to Allah to decide.

He said he “loves” his party, but hinted at keeping his options open as he was now mired in a “volatile situation”.

Dr Hasan, and former deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa, have been under fire from party colleagues over the past several weeks.

There is speculation that both will be dropped by the party in the national polls.

The pair have also been slammed by top leaders for proposing that PAS revive unity talks with arch-rivals Umno, with some even saying Dr Hasan is free to leave the party and join Umno.

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