‘Umno wants rebel leader to remain in PAS’
According to the PAS secretary-general, Hasan Ali is more valuable to Umno if he kicks up a fuss from within. He also reiterated the latter may have fallen into a trap.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Former Selangor PAS commissioner Dr Hasan Ali will not leave the Islamic party for Umno nor will the latter welcome him, PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali said today.
This was because strategically, the controversial PAS man was much more valuable for Umno if he remained in PAS.
“Should he leave the party and criticise PAS, no one will believe him. If you do it (criticise the party) from within the party, it will cause confusion.
“It is politically strategic. It works the same with Umno as well. If you are no longer in the party, people will not believe what you say. That is my evaluation (of the situation),” Mustafa told a press conference at the party headquarters here.
Hasan’s refusal to toe the party line had dominated headlines over the past few days with the veteran politician slamming PAS for deviating from its Islamic struggle.
Ressurecting the sensitive Umno-PAS unity talks issue, the Selangor exco for religious affairs also said that he would not mind being the middleman to bring the two arch-rivals together for the sake of Islam.
Following Hasan’s comments, another round of in-fighting surfaced. This time it was in the form of former deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa who also echoed that PAS had steered away from its original fight.
Nasharudin, however, stated that he would not join Umno.
Commenting on this, Mustapa thanked Nasharudin for “distancing himself” from the controversy and urged Hasan to do the same.
“If Hasan follows in Nasharudin’s footsteps, then it will be over,” he said.
‘Umno’s political trap’
Mustapa suggested that Hasan might have fallen into Umno’s trap to stir up trouble in PAS, adding that the latter might not even be aware of this.
“A political trap is unlike a trap set for a monkey which you can see. You may fall into the (political) trap even without realising that you have walked into it. This (controversy) can give mileage to Umno,” he said.
Mustafa also said that based on what transpired during a political bureau meeting last night, it was obvious that Hasan did not have the kind of support he claims.
