IS PAS back to its old ways? Is PAS reviving its old theme that those who don’t support the party or its Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition might go to hell?
Recently, Sik PAS Youth chief Mohd Shahiful Md Nasir remarked that those who support Barisan Nasional (BN) or Pakatan Harapan (PH) might go to hell.
Given the public outcry, Shahiful has since apologised for saying this. However, calls for his sacking from the party have fallen on deaf ears.
PAS election director and current Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has distanced himself from Mohd Shahiful’s provocative remark. He said that since Mohd Shahiful has apologised for his remark, the matter should be left alone.
In fact, Sanusi himself has apologised on Mohd Shahiful’s behalf by saying that the latter had not committed a “murder”.
Similarly, PN chairman and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also apologised for Mohd Shahiful’s uncalled remark.
This and other provocative remarks of PAS leaders of late are a sad reminder that the party has gone back to its old, decadent ways.
It is so desperate to make a comeback in the 15th General Elections (GE15) that party leaders at all levels are trying to go back to their dark old days.
By differentiating the opposition as not God-fearing, PAS leaders think that they can use religion to gain support.
PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang’s depiction of the DAP as communists who don’t believe in God is a classic example of how religion is used or misused to deflect the opposition.
“Should have sacked him”
PAS should have sacked Mohd Shahiful for his distasteful remark. There is no room for this kind of offensive behaviour – certainly not from a party that believes it has high religious credentials.
The whole idea behind this response was that if you were not with PAS, then you must be against God, and by going against God, the punishment is hell.
I understand that PAS is not too averse to calling the Muslims in the opposition bloc non-believers or kafirs. According to PAS, non-Muslims in the opposition and those in the DAP are not just kafirs but enemies of Islam.
While UMNO and Bersatu are responsible for racial polarisation in the country, PAS alone is responsible for religious polarisation; the divisive politics of PAS has created serious rifts between the different religions in this country.
PAS leaders talk about heaven and hell but the behaviour and conduct of their leaders remain much to be desired. They are a bunch of irresponsible hypocrites who believe in the means justifying the end.
PAS might be functioning in opposition to UMNO this time around. But surely Malaysians won’t forget that PAS is indeed the beneficiary of the share of the corruption loot with certain UMNO leaders.
Maybe the time has arrived for PAS to explain whether it is true that the party was the recipient of more than RM90 mil in funds from a certain UMNO leader in the past (the money was apparently from stolen 1Malaysia Development Bhd or 1MDB funds).
Anyway, why did the party fail to make legal claims on the editor of Sarawak Report in the UK for alleging that PAS was the beneficiary of 1MDB funds? And what was the price of the settlement?
Surely if PAS was the beneficiary of a portion of the stolen 1MDB funds, it is more likely that those responsible should be the ones who might end up in “hell” – certainly not those in the opposition who are clean and incorruptible. – Nov 13, 2022
Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the state assemblyperson for Perai. He is also deputy chief minister II of Penang.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
