PAS decision on Kedah: Azizan to stay MB, Phahrolrazi and Ismail must rejoin exco

PAS is confident two of its Kedah state assemblymen will rejoin the executive council chaired by Mentri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak, with whom the pair have a long-running feud.

"We are optimistic they will do so,” PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali told a press conference on Monday.

Indeed, the two men -  Phahrolrazi Mohd Zawawi and Ismail Salleh - have promised to leave the final decision to party’s central leadership and are expected to toe the line.

Both Phahrolrazi and Ismail Salleh had initially been dropped by Azizan, and refused to rejoin after the party's central leadership ordered Azizan to reinstate them. PAS insiders say this was the 'rebels' way of protesting what they considered as Azizan's ham-fisted ways.

Personality conflict

At 72, and recently having undergone heart treatment, Azizan has helped Pakatan Rakyat to steer Kedah into a strong economic performance.

Although, the former lecturer recently came under fire for a tough crackdown against a students protest at a state institution, his contribution has on the balance been positive.Last year, Kedah chalked the 5th highest foreign investment amongst the nation's 13th states. Penang and Selangor - two other Pakatan state - again grabbed the top two spots.

Even so, Azizan is known for his authoritarian administrative style, seldom delegating authority and making most of the decisions on his own without consulting the other members of the council.

Pharolrazi and Ismail too have been accused of being strong-willed leaders. Despite both men being tarred by the Umno press as 'Anwarinas' or keen supporters of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, neither men are at all. Their politics tend to be conservative rather than liberal.

"We are aware of the accusations that it is Anwar who is stirring up the trouble in Kedah. But as usual, these are the mainstream media's outright lies and there is not much need for us to get overexcited about. In fact, in Kedah, the PAS community is very close-knit and they know exactly what is happening. It is a personality conflict, as simple as that," PKR legal affairs director Latheefa Koya told Malaysia Chronicle.

"This incident has highlighted what liars Umno leaders are. Every party has its troubles - PKR DAP and now PAS. In MCA, they had to hold 2 EGMs and Najib is now fighting a challenge from Muhyiddin, Badawi and Mahathir. The difference is that Pakatan does not try to be a hypocrite about it and we don't want to lie to the people. Instead of weakening Kedah Pakatan, this episode in which papers like Utusan has every day tried to create trouble for PAS has boomeranged. The Malays in Kedah know both Phahrolrazi and Azizan. The more outlandish the lies, the more Umno expose themselves to be dishonest leaders who should not be voted by anyone."

The two sides are expected to heel and toe the line set by the PAS central leadership, given that the 13th general election may be held as soon as May or June.

Malaysia Chronicle