PAS drops bombshell: Devious Umno 'staged' Himpun to revive unity talks

PAS leaders have dropped a bombshell, accusing Umno of trying to revive unity talks under the guise of the Himpun Gathering of One Million Muslims against apostasy held on Saturday.

Not only has the news of Umno's alleged deviousness and political ruthlessness shocked the nation, but if true, this will surely rile up Christians, who form 10 percent of the electorate in the country and are already angered at constantly being made the pawn in Prime Minister Najib Razak's religious polemics.

"As a senior Malaysian Christian lay leader, I believe that we as a community have of late become more sensitive, more cautious and somewhat insecure as citizens of this country because the powers that be seem to be condoning the actions of some of the extremists out there making false accusations against us," Ramon Navaratnam, past president of Transparency International toldMalaysia Chronicle.

"I would like to point out the comments made by Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa from the Islamic Renaissance Front over the weekend. He said that based on the population census released by Statistics Department, there has not been a single Malay convert or apostate. So if you ask me if I am surprised by the latest allegations that Himpun was a cover or a guise for political motivations, I would say I am not."

Devious Umno

The Himpun rally had been shunned by the Pakatan Rakyat led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who had said there was no reason to support the demonstration as there was no threat of Christianization in the country.

Other Mulsim leaders had also warned that the organisers of the gathering had ulterior motives. They pointed to how the Najib administration had opened the doors wide for Himpun to get a police permit, get a stadium and sort out all the necessary red-tape involving the various federal government agencies.

Nonethless, the call to the 'umat' or the 'believers' from Himpun must have rung false. Only less 5,000 people turned up.

"The only senior leader from PAS who turned up was Hasan Ali, who went in his personal capacity. Maybe he was hoping to see something that is not there," MP for Shah Alam Khalid Samad told Malaysia Chronicle.

Khalid, who is also the Selangor PAS deputy commissioner, accused Himpun’s organisers of trying to portray Islam as being “under siege”. This was to draw the anger of PAS members so that they would attend and support the event together with Umno.

“Although Prime Minister Najib Razak and other Umno leaders have stated that they have nothing to do with Himpun, their sister groups Perkasa as well as Selangor Umno leaders have been clamoring for Muslims to join Himpun. It is obvious Umno badly needs PAS or else face a whitewash in the coming general election," said Khalid.

Hasan hangs onto Selangor MB hopes

In the aftermath of the 12th general election held in March 2008, Hasan Ali - who was then the Selangor PAS commissioner - had tried to broker a unity government with Umno. However, top PAS leaders including president Hadi Awang and Spiritual Adviser Nik Aziz rejected the plan.

Since then, Hasan has continued to push for a 'marriage' between the top two Malay parties although with little success and at a heavy cost to his personal career. Hasan was dropped as the state chief in the party's annual congress earlier this year, and many PAS insiders say he has not given up but will continue to try to help Umno succeed.

Indeed, the Himpun rally followed hot on the heels of the Selangor Sultan's controversial decision on the Jais-DUMC church raid, in which Hasan had played a major role. Hasan, the Gombak Setia assemblyman, was believed to have been offered the post of Selangor Mentri Besar if the 2008 plan had succeeded.

Last month, Hasan stoutly defended the Umno-controlled Jais (or Selangor Islamic Religious Department) although it had searched the Damansata Utama Methodist Church on suspicion of proselytizing activities without getting any prior search warrant.

Malaysia Chronicle