PAS assembly and party polls begin, with Umno watching closely

The three-day PAS general assembly or Muktamar has begun and the ones most keen to monitor the event is none other than arch-rivals UMNO. UMNO will get an idea of PAS' political stand from the tone of theMuktamar and from the leaders the grassroots elect to lead the party.

"Of course, everyone is excited but the ones who have showing the most interest seems to be UMNO. I don't know why they are so busy-body but every day you can see all sorts of stories about PAS, some true but mostly false," PAS treasurer general Hatta Ramli told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Every year, especially when there are internal party elections, UMNO will start making merger offers. They are trying to get to our grassroots but every year the sentiment grows strong that Malay unity is fine but that doesn't there can be only one Malay party. That wouldn't be healthy."

This year, UMNO is even offering Cabinet positions to select PAS leaders in a bid to woo the party over to BN. It appears that Prime Minister Najib Razak is trying to cause a split in the top PAS leadership. And whether UMNO succeeds in winning PAS, party insiders say it will still try to stir up trouble because that is the politics of the UMNO elite.

Meanwhile, the mainstream media has been labelling one faction in PAS as the 'Erdogan faction' and the other faction as the ulama faction.

One English daily has even gone so far as to list down the names of the members of the 'Erdogan faction', hinting that Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, the PAS Kuala Selangor MP seems to be some sort of a de-facto head for the 'Erdogans'.

The 'Erdogans', named after Turkish Head of State, Tayyip Erdogan, for their modern and progressive outlook has been typed-cast as a 5th Column in PAS. The writers in the said English daily further added that the 'Erdogan faction' is Anwar-friendly and DAP-friendly, whereas the ulama faction are hardliners and conservatives.

Psy-war

The mainstream media has gone into overdrive trying to paint a picture of 2 warring factions within PAS. But if there are 2 factions in PAS, there must be 20 in UMNO, retorted PAS leaders when contacted by Malaysia Chronicle.

The accused the BN-controlled media of trying to influence and scaring readers into thinking that PAS is not stable, there is no unity in the party and many of its leaders are extremists.

Wearied by the hype, Dzulkefly Ahmad said it was like the mainstream papers were going out of their way to make life difficult for him and his colleagues. As far as he is concerned, there is no such thing as the 'Erdogan faction' in PAS.

"It is BN media psy-war to unsettle the leaders, delegates, members and supporters of PAS with the vicious motive of destroying PAS from within besides trying to destroy the party from without," said Dzulkefly, who is also the PAS chief strategist.

"If UMNO cannot get PAS to join BN, the next best thing is to destroy PAS. This clearly shows that UMNO's invitation to PAS for the sake of Muslim unity is a farce and is purely a lie to deceive the Malays into voting for BN."

According to his colleague Husam Musa, the Kelantan senior executive councillor, what the top party leaders wanted was a good mix of leaders both from the professionals and the ulama in order to see to the needs of everyone.

"Tok Guru Nik Aziz has said matters on earth are not to be neglected while in the pursuit of heaven and eternity as Islam is a way of life and covers all aspects including economics, governance and administration," Husam told Malaysia Chronicle.

Focus GE

The manner in which PAS members have conducted themselves has been admirable. While competition is tough because there are no bars placed on any posts, lobbying and campaigning is disallowed and greatly frowned upon.

So while there is an air of keenness and excitement, there isn't that flashy show of money politics so evident in UMNO polls.

With indications that snap general elections will be called very soon, the focus of the Muktamar will inevitably be on the general election and also the direction of the party. This will be debated and discussed at length in the Muktamar.

All said and done, although the contestation in PAS is the hottest in its 60-year history, once the party polls are concluded on 5th June, everyone will be expected to close ranks and prepare for the biggest election battle ever in Malaysian history - the 13th General Election.

In fact, PAS president Hadi Awang has already ordered the party's election machinery to gear up for the GE immediately after the Muktamar ends on Sunday.

He said the party's aim was to defend the four Pakatan Rakyat-ruled states of Selangor, Penang, Kelantan and Kedah, and vowed to work together with other Pakatan parties which, he added, had administered the states to the best of their ability.

"Let us strive forward with our feet firmly on the ground and with our spirits high. God willing, let us defend this victory. We have proven that we can win and that Barisan Nasional can lose," Hadi said in his address at PAS' 57th Muktamar on Friday. - Malaysia Chronicle