IF THERE was one observer watching keenly the outcome of the result of the DAP delegates’ vote on Aug 16, it must surely be PAS.
The Islamist party was hoping that delegates to the DAP national conference in Putrajaya would vote to quit the unity government, thus probably paved the way for an early 16th General Election (GE16).
Its assistant secretary-general Khairul Faizi Ahmad Kamil contends that if DAP withdraws from the Cabinet, it indicates that the unity government has “lost its cohesion”.
And that means Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim must call for a fresh mandate as the only “dignified” way out for his troubled-plagued coalition.
But in the end, the DAP delegates voted overwhelmingly to stay put with the Cabinet. And that ended PAS’ dream of forcing a snap general election.
Apparently, Khairul who is also Johor PAS deputy commissioner has tried his level best to paint a bleak picture of Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) future had DAP opted out of the Madani government.
Hadi’s all-out DAP demonisation
The core of his argument boils down to this: what Malaysia needs at this critical juncture is a government standing on a solid foundation of trust and stability. And that means only PAS can provide such a political environment.
It is a well-known fact that the Islamist party has one single-minded objective in its push for federal power and that is to form the federal government – without the DAP or for that matter – any other non-Malay based party.
Ever since DAP joined the coalition government, it has come under constant flak from PAS which could not see anything good in whatever things the DAP leaders did in or outside the government.
Despite previously being allies during the Pakatan Rakyat – the predecessor to PH – PAS president Tan Sri Hadi Awang simply cannot accept the existence of DAP as a political force in the country. He goes all-out with his demonisation campaign with nary a thought about the consequences.
If DAP had quit the Cabinet, Hadi would be euphoric because the way would be opened for PAS to fill the void. Most probably, he would have jumped at the chance of joining the ruling coalition if he was handed an invitation card.
Even if there was no offer, Hadi would have crowed over the exit of its sworn enemy and probably claimed credit for cleansing PH of this bad influence.
The Marang MP had openly accused DAP of dominating PH and driving a secular agenda. So it follows that with PAS in the Cabinet, Hadi would lead PH on a righteous path.
As the DAP delegates trooped to cast their votes, another PAS leader was eagerly awaiting the outcome before deciding whether to accept an offer, if it ever comes, to join the Cabinet.
Ridding DAP at all cost
PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan adopted a “wait-and-see” attitude which is another way of saying: “Wait for DAP to get out and if there’s an offer (to join the unity government), we will get in.”
No invitation card came. Good sense prevailed. DAP chose not to “create another instability within the government”.
All this is bad news for PAS. The conservative, religious-centric party just can’t wait to get its hands on the levers of federal power in order to push its Islamic agenda.
With Hadi or his supporters in the driver’s seat – assuming it won a landslide victory in the GE16 – all the policies that go against the grain of parliamentary democracy will be rolled out.
In pursuing its goal of establishing an Islamic state, this right-wing, fundamentalist political entity will go to great lengths to ensure that all traces of DAP will be erased from the Malaysian political map.
With its conservative Islamic ideology, PAS might even ban DAP because the latter is pro-communist if one were to believe in Hadi. After all, communism is incompatible with the laws of God.
But the curtain has come down. The dice has been cast. DAP stays. The Madani show must go on.
And PAS will continue its political sniping until it gains political control over the destiny of the country. And bury DAP for good. – Aug 19, 2026
Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
