New party wants PAS out, Anwar differs
Published on: Friday, September 04, 2015
Kuala Lumpur: Despite talk that Pas has been booted from Pakatan, PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says the Islamic party is still a part of the opposition pact. Anwar said this when welcoming newly announced Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) to the Pakatan alliance. "The formation of a new opposition party (Amanah) committed to change and reform, augurs well for the mature politics of democratic accountability.
ADVERTISEMENT
"Amanah will further strengthen the national opposition, together with PKR, Pas, DAP; and we will expand this cooperation to other committed non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which share our common objectives," he said in a statement.However, Amanah leader Mohamed Hanipa Maidin said while he respected Anwar's views, the four parties would not be able to work together as PAS posed too many problems."I can conclude that Pakatan Rakyat or PR 2.0 would only be viable if PAS is not involved and that it only comprises PKR, DAP and Amanah."Leave PAS to its solo politics and let it carry out its solo agenda alone and undisturbed," said the Sepang MP.
ADVERTISEMENT
He cited PAS's lack of interest in winning elections, its spat with DAP, and the non-Muslims' sentiments towards PAS as among hurdles in working with the country's biggest Islamist party.Hanipa added that PAS would not help shore up more Malay votes for the pact, contrary to popular belief.
ADVERTISEMENT
In the last election, PAS had struggled to win in Malay-majority seats and with the exception of Kelantan, most of the seats it won were in non-Malay or mixed-race areas, said Hanipa.He said PAS would no doubt lose if it contested again in seats with a sizable number of non-Malay voters. Hanipa added that DAP and PKR's seats may also be affected if the non-Malay voters chose to punish them for continuing to work with PAS."To me, with the behaviour, political attitude and the attitude of PAS's current leaders, I do not think it would be an asset to PR 2.0," said Hanipa.He said the new coalition would require parties that understood and appreciated working through consensus."PR 2.0 must focus on the people's needs and not the needs of each individual party that makes up PR 2.0. "What matters more is that every decision must be made through consensus and no party tries to dominate the pact," said Hanipa.On Monday, Gerakan Harapan Baru, the group formed by former PAS leaders, announced that it was taking over the dormant Workers Party to rebrand it as Parti Amanah Negara.When asked to comment on Anwar's statement, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said the party respected the former opposition leader's view."That is his view. We respect that. The DAP's position (on this matter) is clear. I don't think we have to restate it.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
