Kadir Jasin roots for Amanah candidates

He urges voters to reject both PAS and Umno in the coming by-elections because there’s a possibility that the Islamist party is in cahoots with Najib.

(FMT) – Veteran journalist A Kadir Jasin has urged the signatories to the Citizens’ Declaration to campaign for the candidates that Parti Amanah Negara will field in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections.

Amanah’s candidates would be the ones to represent the aspirations of the people as expressed in the declaration, he says in his latest blog entry.

He notes that the declaration has two basic objectives: the removal of Prime Minster Najib Razak from office and the reform of Putrajaya’s system of governance. But he points out that the two are intimately linked. “The reform of the system is impossible unless Najib is removed.”

He says voters should reject both Umno and PAS because no one can tell for sure whether the two parties are opponents in the two by-elections or collaborators in some devious scheme that disregards the interests of their members as well as the concerns of non-Malays.

He alleges that Najib, PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang and PAS Spiritual Guide Haron Din are “locked in a passionate love triangle”.

Commenting on Hadi’s recent admission that he negotiated with the government before tabling what is often referred to as the “hudud bill”, Kadir says that although the PAS President used the word “government”, what he really meant was “Najib”.

“The embattled Najib’s priority is not the feelings and the concerns of Umno members, but to keep Hadi and Harun on his side,” he says, alleging that the Prime Minister was haunted by the prospect of being sacked through a statutory declaration by MPs.

“Between losing his position and losing the by-elections, he’d rather gamble with the votes in Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar.”

He says Najib believes that Umno and BN supporters who are upset over his collaboration with Hadi can be soothed by his “cash is king” approach.

Kadir claims that neither Umno nor PAS cares any longer about attracting votes from Chinese and Indians. “They have conceded defeat to DAP and Pakatan Harapan” when it comes to non-Malay votes.

“The representatives of the Chinese and Indians in Barisan Nasional have had their role reduced to that of entertainers,” he says. “They are ignored whatever they say or do, such as threatening to leave Barisan. They are there only to make up the numbers and to earn their salaries.”