PAS struggles to deliver campaign message in Umno fortress

Soft-spoken PAS candidate Normala on the campaign trail. PAS is facing pressure to depart from its usual practice of using fiery speakers at its rallies in the by-election. — Picture by Choo Choy May

LABIS, Jan 24 — The PAS campaign in Tenang is under pressure to depart from its usual practice of deploying fiery speakers at rallies to avoid offending the locals who are largely staunch Umno supporters.

The Malaysian Insider understands that former Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin’s recent remarks at a gathering had caused uneasiness among some of his party colleagues when he declared it is haram for Muslims to vote for Barisan Nasional (BN).

It is unclear however if Nizar has been banned from campaigning in Tenang for the remarks that have invited criticism from BN election chief and Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

Nizar made the remarks at a rally just a day before nomination, and he has not been scheduled to speak at any rally in Tenang.

“The guidelines have been enforced, we are aware of it, but I guess Nizar has somewhat violated it,” said a national PAS leader who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Party insiders said guidelines for leaders have been issued to ensure that the numerous public rallies planned throughout the campaign do not backfire.

It is understood that PAS campaigners from outside Johor have been advised not to make personal attacks against government leaders and to be careful in their choice of words to avoid being seen as uttering profanities by the locals.

Speakers without formal religious education are also prohibited from issuing religious rulings.

The Johor PAS leadership has always been careful when inviting national leaders who mostly hail from the east coast or the northern states, and guidelines were drawn up to guide them when addressing public rallies.

Party sources said that the strict guidelines, first introduced in the 1990s, also led many local PAS activists to believe that then-deputy president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and former Youth chief Mohamad Sabu, who are known as fiery orators, were once banned from campaigning in Umno’s birthplace.

Abdul Hadi and Mohamad however have been making several appearances at public rallies in the Tenang campaign.

Johor PAS veteran Mazlan Aliman confirmed that the state party has always applied extra caution when organising rallies, but refused to say if any leader has been banned.

“Yes there are guidelines on how to speak at ceramah and how to adhere to local customs, but we have never banned anyone but those who make mistakes we would usually remind them,” Mazlan told The Malaysian Insider.

“And the guidelines are still in force but Ustaz Hadi and Mohammad Sabu have always come to Johor, we don’t ban,” he said.

PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub also confirmed the existence of the strict guidelines but claimed that it has not resulted in the banning of any national leader.

“We once decided that only those qualified to speak on Islam are allowed to talk about religion in their ceramah,” said the Johor politician.

“If the speaker is found to be too harsh we will give them a reminder,” Salahuddin told The Malaysian Insider.

Apart from the usual rallies, PAS has also been campaigning through its newsletter Buletin Tenang, published every day since before the nomination process.

PAS is fielding soft-spoken former teacher Normala Sudirman who left the education service to contest in the by-election.

She is facing BN’s Azahar Ibrahim, a former Rengit assistant district officer, in the January 30 vote. - Malaysian Insider