Ex-PAS sec-gen sees silver lining in Harapan’s victory

Former PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali believes that without Umno in Putrajaya, PAS will be in a better position to rule Kelantan and Terengganu.

He said PAS no longer had to deal with Umno's propaganda and “disruptions”.

"When PAS ruled Terengganu in 1999, the situation was different. BN, with Umno at its core, was still ruling the country.

"Although they couldn't function in the state, they were ruling the federal government and disrupting our administration at the state level.

"Without Umno, I think the relationship between the federal and state government will be better and will be beneficial to our future plans," he told Malaysiakini during an interview in Kuala Terengganu last Wednesday.

Mustafa, who is now chairing PAS' advisory board, said although it was too early to judge Harapan's administration, he was confident that PAS now had better footing.

"When we won (in 1999) and lost (in 2004), it was not a form of rejection by the public. Our planning was incorrect and the ruling coalition cheated.

"By the time we found out about this, it was too late. The Election Commission was controlled by the ruling coalition. They won because they cheated.

"Now they are no longer the federal government and are weak (in Terengganu). I don't think there will any problems (in PAS being returned to power in the future)," he said.

He said PAS had formed village committees between 1999 and 2004, but the federal government formed parallel organisations.

"There was also TV propaganda. There's none now. The Harapan government says it wants to free the press.

"The press is not being used by the ruling coalition to ‘hentam’ (whack) us. The situation is better for us," he said.

He believed that Harapan was unlikely to be able to spread its wings to Terengganu and Kelantan, because voters in these two states only recognised PAS and Umno.

"It's difficult for them to leave for another party. So to me, Harapan is not a threat (to PAS), for now," he said.

Yesterday, Mustafa defended Harapan’s 'failure' in fulfilling its 100-day promises. - Mkini