Why did the 'Dajjal' fail to appear in 2021, PM's aide asks Hadi

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s political secretary Kamil Abdul Munim has questioned what he sees as a glaring double standard in PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s apocalyptic denunciation of the confidence and supply agreement (CSA) between the government and opposition lawmakers.

The CSA, signed with six Bersatu MPs and six independent MPs, including Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, is intended to ensure political stability by securing their support for Anwar’s administration until the end of the parliamentary term, including the passage of Budget 2027.

But Hadi likened the agreement to the “Dajjal approach at the end of times”, a comparison Kamil found hard to reconcile with PAS’ own political history.

Jogging the veteran politician’s memory, Kamil (above) said in a statement: “Perhaps he has forgotten that on Sept 13, 2021, when PAS was part of the government led by then prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, a memorandum of understanding on transformation and political stability was signed with Pakatan Harapan.

“Although it was called an MOU, the understanding also contained elements of a confidence and supply arrangement to ensure government stability and the passage of the budget.”

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang

Kamil pointedly observed that the “Dajjal (the “deceiver” or “false messiah” in Islam) did not make an appearance then.

“But now that PAS is outside the government, a similar political mechanism has suddenly become associated with the Dajjal.

“Is this a new doctrine in PAS politics? Halal for us, haram for you? Or does this political ruling come with special exemptions for allies?” he asked.

Different standards

The PKR Youth chief said there was nothing wrong with disagreeing with the CSA or scrutinising its terms and implementation. However, he cautioned against invoking religious terminology to condemn an arrangement that PAS itself had previously accepted while in government.

“What has changed is the political position. We should not allow the yardstick of what is halal and haram to shift according to which side of the political divide one occupies.

“Religion teaches us to be just and uphold principles, not to apply two different standards depending on who happens to be in power,” he added.

Beyond securing parliamentary support, the CSA also requires its signatories to back the government’s efforts to introduce proposals limiting the prime minister’s tenure to a maximum of two terms and separating the roles of the attorney-general and public prosecutor.

MPs who signed the CSA recently

In return, the signatories will receive constituency development funds equivalent to those allocated to government MPs.

With the CSA in place, the government bloc commands 149 of the 218 seats occupied in the Dewan Rakyat.

Although Parliament has 222 seats, four are vacant following the resignations of Bersama co-leader Rafizi Ramli and his allies.

A simple majority requires 110 votes, while a two-thirds majority requires 146.  - Mkini