Ustaz Kazim says 'no' to Umno as well

Religious scholar and former PAS member Mohammad Kazim Elias has turned down an offer to be appointed to the Umno supreme council, ending days of confusion over his status after an Umno outsider was last week suddenly appointed to the council.

Speaking to some 2,000 people gathered for a religious talk at Taman Ria in Sungei Petani, Kedah, last night, Kazim said he would officially announce today his decision not to join Umno, Utusan Malaysia Online reported today.

Kazim (left) has been sidelined by PAS after he was, on Nov 29,named by Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor to make up one of the 13 co-opted members of the Umno supreme council.

However, the Islamist party's vice-president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man told Malay daily Sinar Harian on Dec 2 that Kazim had been sacked from PAS in May this year, while Kazim himself said he "never received any dismissal letter".

Some PAS members have called him an "animal" and a "hypocrite" and some party leaders also likened to "a goat that has been eaten by a wolf".

Some also referred to Kazim as a confused religious person, even saying he was becoming an idol of worship for Umno.

In return, the religious scholar quit PAS and said the Islamist party had for years attacked and sidelined him, which he said had also affected his family.

Kazim, a prominent religious speaker, was thought to have been apolitical and his appointment to the Umno supreme council by party president Najib Abdul Razak was seen as an attempt to make Umno more inclusive.

Only after his appointment to Umno had been announced was it revealed that he has been a PAS member since 1998.