Hadi: Pakatan ties smooth but PAS will quit pact if Islam, Malays lose out
(TMI) – Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has said that the Pakatan Rakyat’s (PR) three partners are working well with each other but PAS will not hesitate to quit the pact should Islam and Malays lose out in coalition politics.
The Islamist party president’s declaration last night, reportedly made in front of a 10,000-strong crowd in Kuala Nerus, Terengganu, appeared an attempt to shore up support from the country’s biggest demographic group ahead of Election 2013.
“If that pact does not benefit Islam and Malays, PAS will exit PR! Without a doubt,” he was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian, which carried the news on its front-page today.
The Malay daily reported Hadi (picture) saying there were no issues currently within the three PR partners and that he was confident their collaboration would not impact the Malays in a negative wat, who are constitutionally defined to also be Muslims.
The Marang MP was also reported saying the PR political partnership with DAP and PKR had in fact empowered the Malays and Islam.
“In fact, we have succeeded in making a paradigm shift with the victories of candidates like Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, Fuziah Salleh who fought with non-Malay Muslim candidates and were won by Malay and non-Muslim voters.
“That’s the big change we have created,” the opposition leader was reported saying.
Dr Siti Mariah is PAS MP for Kota Raja while her PKR colleague, Fuziah, is MP for Kuantan. Both are urban federal seats with a mixed racial demography.
Recently, an unsettled feeling among the country’s biggest demographic group has been perceived to be growing amid widespread rumours that their constitutional rights were being challenged by minority groups.
The issue of race and religion — which are inseparable subjects in Malaysia — have become major electoral fodder ahead of national polls that must be called by April when the ruling Barisan Nasional’s mandate expires.
In particular, debate over the use of the word “Allah” to call god among non-Muslims remains a hot-button topic as many Muslims nationwide believe the Arabic word to be exclusive to Islam, despite a 2009 High Court ruling it otherwise.