PAS president Tan Sri Hadi Awang has been challenged by an UMNO supreme council member to reveal the identity of the individual who offered his party the chance to join the unity government.
I will not be surprised if Hadi is unable to reveal the identity of the individual because this person does not exist in the same way that Hadi has been unable to substantiate the numerous wild and preposterous allegations he has made against the DAP and me.
Hadi has accused DAP and me of promoting Islamophobia. If so, Hadi had been remiss in his previous duties as Special Envoy to the Middle East to two former prime ministers (PM) when he failed to lodge a report to the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (OIC) Islamophobia Observatory.
Furthermore, he has compounded his dereliction of duty as a MP by failing to raise the matter in Parliament because it is completely unacceptable that Islamophobia is allowed in any one of the 57 OIC countries.
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli has denied Hadi’s claim that PKR had offered the party to join the government. The Pandan MP said he had never heard of such an invitation despite being directly involved in the formation of the government after the 15th General Election (GE15).
It is quite demeaning for Hadi to be told by UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, to stop day-dreaming and claimed that PAS had been offered to be part of the Anwar unity government.
Hadi asserted that PAS should be given a dominant role as it had the most number of parliamentary seats, of all parties. Does Hadi want to be the PM?
This shows Hadi’s lack of sincerity in wanting to be part of the unity government as he is more interested in PAS domination than in unity.
Or could Hadi has mistaken my suggestion that PAS should work together with Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government to resolve long-standing issues of the 60-year water problem and the lack of development in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah as an official invitation for PAS to join the Anwar unity government?
Hadi cannot be unaware of my clarification that this was my personal idea and not that of DAP or that of the Anwar unity government as I have not discussed it with the DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook or any other DAP leaders, let alone the leaders and ministers of the Anwar unity government.
Although I support the idea of PAS being part of the Anwar unity government, PAS must demonstrate a change of attitude to show that it supports the Yang di Pertuan Agong’s call for political stability and national unity in Malaysia.
For a start, is Hadi prepared to retract and apologise for the numerous wild and preposterous allegations he has made against the DAP and me?
Secondly, will PAS MPs show that they will stop playing up race and religious issues and be model MPs who support political stability and national unity?
Thirdly will PAS support the objective to make Malaysia the role model for the world for inter-ethnic, inter-religious, inter-cultural and inter-civilisation dialogue, understanding, tolerance and harmony? – May 29, 2023
Retired DAP supremo and former Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang, 82, has a colourful political career spanning 57 years.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
