Shahbudin: Ulama PAS getting hysterical over GHB

The bai’ah (loyalty) issue exploits the name of Allah, denigrates Islam and humiliates election candidates and their wives for the sake of the party.

KUALA LUMPUR: No one henceforth, predicts a political analyst, would be interested in PAS which has degenerated into a closed one-horse party – hudud – oblivious to the real needs of the people. “They are virtually living on another planet since the departure of the professionals and progressives from the party following the recent party election, leaving it in the hands of the ulama.”

The Gerakan Harapan Baru (GHB), set up by the professionals and progressives in PAS, would deal a severe blow to PAS, said Shahbudin Husin. “When this group was in PAS, it managed to attract the support of the non-Muslims and non-Malays. Now that they are gone, even the Muslims and Malays will desert PAS.”

Not surprisingly, he added, the ulama in PAS have hysterically gone on the offensive against the GHB, and labeling the group as traitors, proxies of the DAP. “PAS thinks that GHB will not last long, perhaps two years at the most, recalling the history of earlier breakaways like Hamim and Berjasa.”

“The latest issue in PAS is bai’ah or oath of loyalty pledge which sees PAS descending to the level of Pekida, a rightwing fringe racist movement. The Majlis Fatwa should act and outlaw bai’ah which denigrates Islam and Allah.”

The bai’ah oath of loyalty pledge, purportedly witnessed by Allah, shows that PAS has no faith in using Islam as the basis of its political struggle and the path to paradise but has to resort to anachronistic and humiliating ways to bind the loyalty of candidates to it forever. “Using Allah as the witness was nothing more than exploiting the almighty and reducing him to the lowest level possible just for the sake of the party.”

The bai’ah issue is nothing more than an attempt by the ulama in PAS to frighten the professionals and progressives into submission and get them to drop their plans to proceed with GHB, said Shahbudin. “The idea behind raising the bai’ah issue was to get the people to reject GHB as a group which has betrayed PAS, the party of Islam, and even worse betrayed Allah by deserting PAS.”

He explained that in certain states, the bai’ah of the candidates in the elections only required them to remain loyal to PAS and if they left the party, they would be cursed throughout their life, and it was haram (forbidden) for them to accept their salaries and allowances as lawmakers. “In Kelantan, as explained by Menteri Besar Ahmad Yaakob, also the deputy Murshidul Am, bai’ah was more serious and involves the candidates pledging their wives through the talak tiga (divorce) if they leave the party and join others.”

The bai’ah is the ultimate humiliation of women by PAS, warned Shahbudin, besides humiliating their husbands. “This has seen many PAS members taking more than one wife, sometimes not in this country, but in another neighbouring country. This leaves the elder wives in a quandary as they are left without husbands and have to fend for themselves in case of divorce or alternatively accept the other wives to avoid being divorced under bai’ah.”

“Such cases have gone to court and appeared in the media with all the intricate details.

Shahbudin reiterated that by focusing on just hudud and now bai’ah, and ignoring the various issues which affect national interest, no one would be interested in a party like PAS under the ulama. “The GHB which will get together with DAP, PKR and the NGOs in a new Pakatan Rakyat 2.0, would become the hope of the people.’

In recent years, he said, it has become obvious that these groups really care about the welfare of the people. “That continues to be the basis of their political struggle.”