PAS should leave Pakatan to check enemies of Islam, says Isma
Muslim rights group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) today urged PAS to leave Pakatan Rakyat in order to maintain Malay Muslim power in the country, after a leaked WhatsApp chat revealed there were talks among its leaders on the possibility of leaving the opposition pact to team up with Umno.
Its deputy president, Aminuddin Yahaya, said the suggestion put forward by PAS Research Centre operations director Dr Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki represented the feelings of many in the party, who were uneasy over the actions of the other coalition partners in Pakatan but did not dare voice their concerns before.
"PAS should leave PR to maintain Malay Muslim power in this country, which is at a critical level, given that the enemy pact is trying to destroy Islam and Malays," he wrote in a column titled “10 reasons PAS should leave PR” on Isma’s website.
He said that it would unite the Malay Muslim community which appeared lost, given that PAS no longer represented their voice.
Aminuddin said this would also stop the attacks on Islam by its enemies, who were using PAS’s involvement in Pakatan to do so.
"The PAS agenda is being sidetracked by interested persons within the party.
"If PAS leaves Pakatan, it will be able to return to its original struggle, which is to uphold the importance of Islam with Malays at the helm of leadership.”
Aminuddin said that the move would solve the confusion among the public about PAS, which was seen as being tolerant towards the enemies of Islam.
He added that Malay voters who wanted change would also return to PAS's fold as they no longer trusted the leadership of Umno.
"All this while voters shunned PAS because they felt the party was defeated by DAP in the political arena.
"The assertion by DAP that PAS will lose more seats because they will lose Chinese support if it comes out of PR is a threat and an insult," he said.
Another reason put forward by Aminuddin for PAS to leave PR was to defend the royal institution as the “enemies of Islam” would not dare challenge it if the Malay Muslim majority were united in defending the royalty.
He said that it will also reinstate the position of the ulama in PAS.
He added that the current political consensus between PAS and DAP could be challenged under Islamic laws as it did not benefit Islam.
He also said that a break from the opposition pact would prevent the party from being used to further the aspirations of certain individuals, who were only after power and wealth.
Aminuddin also praised Zuhdi, whom he described as the true voice of PAS and urged him not to be cowed by critics, saying that only those who feared losing power felt oppressed by his remarks. – August 1, 2014.
