Selangor PAS today refuted Umno-owned Malay daily Utusan Malaysia's assertion that the royal award to be given to its former commissioner Hasan Ali (right) was a personal recognition.
“In my view, the award is His Highness' recognition of PAS as a party and Pakatan as a whole for its tenure in the state.
“The sultan has been very fair in this, in the first year awarding the Datuk Seri title to the MB Khalid Ibrahim from PKR, the second a datukship to speaker Teng Chang Kim of DAP.
“This year it is our turn, by awarding the Datuk Paduka Mahkota to the former PAS commissioner as the ranking party member on the state executive council," PAS Selangor deputy commissioner Khalid Samad told a press conference in Shah Alam.
The royal award is expected to be conferred on Hasan during the coming birthday celebrations for the monarch. The birthday of the Sultan of Selangor falls on Sunday.
However, he said that if Hasan could indeed unite the Malays in the state, PAS would welcome it. But he cautioned that unity just for the sake of Malay nationalism alone was not enough, but required a more holistic and inclusive purpose.
Khalid (left) said that as was detailed in Islamic history, divisions among Muslims were not new, but the important thing was that factions that reconciled successfully had always done so on clearly defined Islamic principles, not on nationalist agendas.
Yesterday, Utusan's senior editor Zaini Hassan wrote in his column Cuit, that the royal award was the sultan's endorsement of Hasan and proclaimed the state exco member as a 'fighter'.
Zaini described Hasan as the only saviour for Malays in Selangor and Islam's sole shining hope who would bridge a political 'marriage' between Umno and PAS.
Zaini had quoted the sultan's recent speech on Malay unity as proof that the ruler was endorsing Hasan, who he claimed held sway over many in PAS and the civil service - and Zaini also made it clear that he was not dragging the monarch into politics.
The daily had been actively running articles praising Hasan and calling for him to lead a joint Umno-PAS Malay political rennaissance.
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