PAS eats from both sides
UNIVERSITI Utara Malaysia political science lecturer Kamarul Zaman Yusoff has written two theses on PAS. He has a good rapport with some of the leaders of the Islamist party.
Kamarul considers himself an expert on PAS. However, nowadays he can’t read much about what it is up to.
“I
still cannot fully comprehend what is in the minds of PAS leaders as
far as their recent political strategies are concerned,” he said.
Logically speaking, Kamarul said after scoring big in Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election by helping Barisan Nasional/Umno defeat Pakatan Harapan/DAP candidate, PAS should have focused on elevating the status of its partnership with Umno.
This was so that the Cameron Highlands winning momentum could
be sustained in the state by-elections of Semenyih and Rantau, he said.
However, he observed that the Feb 15 meeting between party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad seem to have made the relationship between PAS and Umno shaky.
What happened after Dr Mahathir met Hadi together with PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan and Terengganu Mentri Besar Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar is a “he said, she said” contradictory statements from both sides.
On Feb 16, Dr Mahathir said PAS had agreed in writing that it would not support Umno in the Semenyih by-election.
On
Feb 18, Takiyuddin said there was no mention of the Semenyih
by-election and they discussed oil royalty for Terengganu and other
things. The PAS secretary-general added fuel to the fire when he claimed
that PAS signed a draft letter to declare its support to Dr Mahathir in
a vote of no confidence in Parliament.
On Feb 25, Dr Mahathir said he did not need PAS’ support as there were sufficient Pakatan MPs.
What’s happening to PAS? Is it playing kayu tiga (to cheat on a spouse or partner) with Dr Mahathir and Umno?
Azmi Omar, a political analyst based in Kuala Terengganu, doesn’t think it is kayu tiga as it is done in the open.
PAS, he said, was consistent as it was dealing with Dr Mahathir and Umno with regard to Malay and Muslim issues.
“Within that race and religious lingo, PAS is really going against DAP,” he said.
It is a new political reality for PAS, Azmi said. It is trying to navigate through its Islamic ideology and running two state governments in Terengganu and Kelantan.
“It needs to deal with the Federal government. If you don’t go and see the old man (Dr Mahathir) and talk to him, then how are you going to get – for example – (royalty) money from the Federal government?” he said.
For the Terengganu and Kelantan governments, Kamarul said PAS must have a cordial relationship with the Prime Minister especially on oil royalty payment.
Political analyst Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia has a similar interpretation.
The PAS-led states rely on the Federal government for financial support, Mazlan said. PAS, he said, has no choice but to support the Prime Minister.
“When Tun Mahathir gave wang minyak (oil royalty) to the Terengganu government, it made PAS have the faith to support his leadership on the basis of maslahat (general good) as it brought benefit to the people of the state,” he said.
It was part of the Islamist party’s politik matang sejahtera (mature and prosperous politics), he added.
When Hadi, Takiyuddin and the Terengganu Menteri Besar met the Prime Minister to get a concession from the Federal government, Dr Mahathir saw it as an opportunity to break the relationship between PAS and Umno, Mazlan contended.
“Tun Mahathir tried to trap PAS by promising better Federal and state relationships.
“The offer was tempting for PAS especially as Kelantan state government does not have money,” he said.
Dr Mahathir was worried about the big momentum that was building up between the two parties after their Cameron Highlands victory, Mazlan said.
“If you look at the GE14 results, there were many seats which PH won because of three-cornered fights. It was an advantage for PH when PAS and Umno contested in the same seat,” he said.
Mazlan said Dr Mahathir also had to split PAS and Umno as the other Pakatan parties like PKR and Amanah were not effective in attracting the support of rural Malays. PAS and Umno managed to create a negative perception among the community against DAP, he said.
“They have hatred towards PH because of the perception that DAP is controlling the coalition and it is kiasu,” he said.
PAS leaders’ support for Dr Mahathir, according to Kamarul, was quite genuine as the Prime Minister of late faced some serious attack from a few Pakatan leaders.
Dr Mahathir’s coalition partners were unhappy with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia accepting former Umno MPs and Bersatu’s move to Sabah as well as on issues close to the Malay Muslims like Icerd (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) and local government elections, he said.
The PAS leaders and the Prime Minister meeting on Feb 15 which was on the eve of the Semenyih by-election nomination day was the golden opportunity for Dr Mahathir to strike, said Kamarul.
“Dr Mahathir revealed that PAS would no longer support Umno in Semenyih. His revelation caught PAS leaders off-guard. And this forced PAS to counter it by disclosing about its alleged pledge of support to the Prime Minister in a vote of no confidence in Parliament,” he said.
“Similarly, Umno leaders also were, at least initially, taken aback, making some to begin to have serious reservation about the viability and durability of the PAS-Umno partnership,” he said.
PAS’ maslahat politics, according to Mazlan, was also the reason it could taawun (cooperate) with Dr Mahathir as well as Umno.
In Semenyih by-election, the Islamist party supported Umno because it has a good relationship with it since the first post-GE14 by-election in Sungai Kandis state seat, he said. PAS also had an unofficial partnership with Umno in GE14, he added.
Umno too, he said needed PAS for its political survival.
“PAS is with Umno on Malay and Muslim issues and it is with Dr Mahathir – and not Pakatan, which the Islamist party considered as dangerous for Muslims and Malays as it is dominated by DAP – so that Terengganu and Kelantan are not left out development,” he said.
However, Mazlan said PAS is difficult to pegang (hold) because it has the concept of berbohong untuk maslahat (lying for the general good).
He pointed at the case of Nik Abduh Nik Aziz. The Bachok MP initially refused to admit that it was his voice in a recording that the party had allegedly received millions from Umno.
“Last, last, he admitted that he was ordered by PAS leadership to lie,” he said.
The Islamist party, he warned, would support any party that made it strong. It can leave Umno anytime, he said.
The general assumption of the anti-PAS public is the party was issuing contradictory and confusing statements to distract from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probe that Umno gave it RM90mil before GE14.
Perhaps yes, said Azmi. This issue would strengthen the belief of the anti-PAS public that PAS could not be trusted, he said
“But, I tell you, I am on the ground. As far as the Umno and PAS grassroots concerned, they are not swayed by this perception,” he said. With the benefit of hindsight, Kamarul said now that MACC had seized properties, vehicles and money from some PAS leaders, it was quite possible that the probe played a role.
“But that’s the public perception which PAS leaders need to change. Besides that their politik matang sejahtera is actually a facade when what they are doing is actually trying to get the best of both worlds,” he said.
There’s a Malay phrase for it – makan keliling (eating from all sides).
Logically speaking, Kamarul said after scoring big in Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election by helping Barisan Nasional/Umno defeat Pakatan Harapan/DAP candidate, PAS should have focused on elevating the status of its partnership with Umno.
However, he observed that the Feb 15 meeting between party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad seem to have made the relationship between PAS and Umno shaky.
What happened after Dr Mahathir met Hadi together with PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan and Terengganu Mentri Besar Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar is a “he said, she said” contradictory statements from both sides.
On Feb 16, Dr Mahathir said PAS had agreed in writing that it would not support Umno in the Semenyih by-election.
New
political reality: PAS has to play nice with the PM and Pakatan federal
government to get support and funding for Kelantan and Terengganu.
On Feb 25, Dr Mahathir said he did not need PAS’ support as there were sufficient Pakatan MPs.
What’s happening to PAS? Is it playing kayu tiga (to cheat on a spouse or partner) with Dr Mahathir and Umno?
Azmi Omar, a political analyst based in Kuala Terengganu, doesn’t think it is kayu tiga as it is done in the open.
PAS, he said, was consistent as it was dealing with Dr Mahathir and Umno with regard to Malay and Muslim issues.
“Within that race and religious lingo, PAS is really going against DAP,” he said.
It is a new political reality for PAS, Azmi said. It is trying to navigate through its Islamic ideology and running two state governments in Terengganu and Kelantan.
“It needs to deal with the Federal government. If you don’t go and see the old man (Dr Mahathir) and talk to him, then how are you going to get – for example – (royalty) money from the Federal government?” he said.
For the Terengganu and Kelantan governments, Kamarul said PAS must have a cordial relationship with the Prime Minister especially on oil royalty payment.
Political analyst Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia has a similar interpretation.
The PAS-led states rely on the Federal government for financial support, Mazlan said. PAS, he said, has no choice but to support the Prime Minister.
“When Tun Mahathir gave wang minyak (oil royalty) to the Terengganu government, it made PAS have the faith to support his leadership on the basis of maslahat (general good) as it brought benefit to the people of the state,” he said.
It was part of the Islamist party’s politik matang sejahtera (mature and prosperous politics), he added.
When Hadi, Takiyuddin and the Terengganu Menteri Besar met the Prime Minister to get a concession from the Federal government, Dr Mahathir saw it as an opportunity to break the relationship between PAS and Umno, Mazlan contended.
“Tun Mahathir tried to trap PAS by promising better Federal and state relationships.
“The offer was tempting for PAS especially as Kelantan state government does not have money,” he said.
Dr Mahathir was worried about the big momentum that was building up between the two parties after their Cameron Highlands victory, Mazlan said.
“If you look at the GE14 results, there were many seats which PH won because of three-cornered fights. It was an advantage for PH when PAS and Umno contested in the same seat,” he said.
Mazlan said Dr Mahathir also had to split PAS and Umno as the other Pakatan parties like PKR and Amanah were not effective in attracting the support of rural Malays. PAS and Umno managed to create a negative perception among the community against DAP, he said.
“They have hatred towards PH because of the perception that DAP is controlling the coalition and it is kiasu,” he said.
PAS leaders’ support for Dr Mahathir, according to Kamarul, was quite genuine as the Prime Minister of late faced some serious attack from a few Pakatan leaders.
Dr Mahathir’s coalition partners were unhappy with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia accepting former Umno MPs and Bersatu’s move to Sabah as well as on issues close to the Malay Muslims like Icerd (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination) and local government elections, he said.
The PAS leaders and the Prime Minister meeting on Feb 15 which was on the eve of the Semenyih by-election nomination day was the golden opportunity for Dr Mahathir to strike, said Kamarul.
“Dr Mahathir revealed that PAS would no longer support Umno in Semenyih. His revelation caught PAS leaders off-guard. And this forced PAS to counter it by disclosing about its alleged pledge of support to the Prime Minister in a vote of no confidence in Parliament,” he said.
“Similarly, Umno leaders also were, at least initially, taken aback, making some to begin to have serious reservation about the viability and durability of the PAS-Umno partnership,” he said.
PAS’ maslahat politics, according to Mazlan, was also the reason it could taawun (cooperate) with Dr Mahathir as well as Umno.
In Semenyih by-election, the Islamist party supported Umno because it has a good relationship with it since the first post-GE14 by-election in Sungai Kandis state seat, he said. PAS also had an unofficial partnership with Umno in GE14, he added.
Umno too, he said needed PAS for its political survival.
“PAS is with Umno on Malay and Muslim issues and it is with Dr Mahathir – and not Pakatan, which the Islamist party considered as dangerous for Muslims and Malays as it is dominated by DAP – so that Terengganu and Kelantan are not left out development,” he said.
However, Mazlan said PAS is difficult to pegang (hold) because it has the concept of berbohong untuk maslahat (lying for the general good).
He pointed at the case of Nik Abduh Nik Aziz. The Bachok MP initially refused to admit that it was his voice in a recording that the party had allegedly received millions from Umno.
“Last, last, he admitted that he was ordered by PAS leadership to lie,” he said.
The Islamist party, he warned, would support any party that made it strong. It can leave Umno anytime, he said.
The general assumption of the anti-PAS public is the party was issuing contradictory and confusing statements to distract from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) probe that Umno gave it RM90mil before GE14.
Perhaps yes, said Azmi. This issue would strengthen the belief of the anti-PAS public that PAS could not be trusted, he said
“But, I tell you, I am on the ground. As far as the Umno and PAS grassroots concerned, they are not swayed by this perception,” he said. With the benefit of hindsight, Kamarul said now that MACC had seized properties, vehicles and money from some PAS leaders, it was quite possible that the probe played a role.
“But that’s the public perception which PAS leaders need to change. Besides that their politik matang sejahtera is actually a facade when what they are doing is actually trying to get the best of both worlds,” he said.
There’s a Malay phrase for it – makan keliling (eating from all sides).
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