PAS hits back at Anwar for telling it to ‘zip it’ over DAP ban

(The Star) – PAS has hit back at PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for warning them to stop calling for DAP to be banned.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (pic) questioned if Anwar was threatening the Islamist party to “zip it”.

“Why is Anwar trying to suppress our freedom of expression? Is DAP above the law? Why can’t we call for DAP to be banned if its leaders are implicated in subversive elements?” he said.

Anwar had on Saturday (Oct 26) claimed that PAS was only courting danger by calling for a ban of DAP.

“We have nothing to fear, as we are voicing out in the best interests of the nation.

“If a party was found to be involved in elements undermining national security and sovereignty, the Registrar of Societies should de-register it, in accordance with the law,” he said.

PAS deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had said that recent developments showed that DAP appeared to be propagating communist ideologies, harbouring Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorist sympathisers, and fanning religious discord.

Tuan Ibrahim had said the call to ban DAP was justifiable, as its leaders had allegedly undermined the principles of statehood and the Federal Constitution.

Tuan Ibrahim had said that DAP’s involvement in propagating communist and socialist ideologies were reflected in the recently banned “Belt & Road Initiative For Win-Winism” comic book.

He noted that DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had penned the foreword in the book written by activist Hew Kuan Yau.

Hew, who had to quit DAP after claiming that the South China Sea belonged to China, was appointed as the Malaysia-China Business Council (MCBC) chief executive officer.

Hew had recently quit as the MCBC CEO after the comic book landed him and DAP in the spotlight.

Tuan Ibrahim noted that the Home Ministry had affirmed that the comic book was banned because it promoted communism and socialism, apart from disseminating wrong and misleading information about the nation’s Independence fighters.

Some DAP leaders were also detained to assist investigations into LTTE influence in Malaysia, as it was a terrorist organisation.

Tuan Ibrahim had also called on the police to investigate DAP’s Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim for claiming that “The Kingdom of God is an unstoppable mission” during a New Malaysia Narrative Forum at a church in Kota Damansara on Sept 14.

Takiyuddin said DAP should quit the Government if it insisted on pressuring the authorities to “break the law” by releasing the detained DAP leaders, and demanding the Home Ministry to revoke its decision to ban the controversial comic book.

“Those who do not respect the rule of law should not be in government,” he said.

Takiyuddin also reaffirmed that all the 18 PAS MPs fully supported Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to serve a full term as the Prime Minister.

“We support the Prime Minister in power, and not the prime minister-in-waiting (Anwar),” he said.

Takiyuddin said a power struggle would only destabilise the nation.

“When the nation is destabilised, it can adversely affect investor confidence. Even existing investors may pull out.

“We should focus on economic progress for the sake of the rakyat,” he said.

Takiyuddin said they would continue collaborating with Umno to wrest control of Putrajaya from Pakatan Harapan in the next general election.

“We do not condone backdoor attempts to wrest control of power,” he said.