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Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Another PAS purge: Unquestioning loyalty not the way - Salahuddin

 


Up until 2015, PAS saw a distinct division within the party, between the conservative and progressive forces.

Even though the party was "cleansed" of the progressives in a systematic electoral attack organised by conservative forces loyal to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang during the 2015 party election, new divisions have emerged.

The new split is between those opposed to Hadi's decision to cooperate with Bersatu over Umno and those who believe that they must show unquestioning loyalty to the party president.

The new dissent was also quickly snuffed out in the party's recently concluded leadership election held early this month.

Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub, who was a PAS vice-president and among the leaders ousted in the 2015 PAS election, noted that history had repeated, just seven years after the previous purge.

Sharing his observation with Malaysiakini, Salahuddin said the problem with PAS lies with its demand for unquestioning loyalty to its leader.

PAS, he, said, needed to learn to accept a diversity of opinions.

Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub

"After more than five years have passed, the same issue has cropped up in PAS politics, where it appears like there is a split.

"That is I have long said - politics is dynamic and this allows us to have differences and speak our minds in the interest of the party.

"But at the time, PAS appeared not to accept this. It appeared to only accept one direction, one line of thinking - which is to have full loyalty to the president," Salahudin told Malaysiakini in an interview.

The concept of 'walla'

Salahuddin said he and his party colleagues were also accused of disloyalty to Hadi when they were purged in 2015, after which they formed the splinter party Amanah.

The concept of "walla" (loyalty) is often bandied around in PAS to urge party members to toe the line of the president.

Salahuddin said the time has proven his time and PAS should draw lessons from it.

"I hope PAS will learn from their recently concluded muktamar.

"The competition groups in PAS have to accept the reality that the relationship between leaders and members is not on-way.

"There has to be interaction and mutual understanding, not a situation where instruction must be obeyed and no dissent is allowed because that goes against the political norms," he said.

The split in PAS this time round was snuffed out before it could develop into anything significant.

Among the leaders ousted from the leadership was Kuala Nerus MP Khairuddin Aman Razali, who was implicated in an audio recording criticising Hadi for his affinity for Bersatu.

Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki, a former strategist for PAS who had pushed back against the party using a common logo with Bersatu under the PN banner for the Malacca polls, also failed to make it into the top three for a vice-president position.

Another notable leader who has fallen out of favour is Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, who is known to be pro-Umno.

These leaders were previously part of Hadi's camp and had helped purge the likes of Salahuddin and his allies in 2015.

Salahuddin said Amanah's doors are open to those who are sidelined in PAS.

"Many have left and we have accepted them," he said. - Mkini

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