Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s continued reign will give PAS an advantage during the next general election, said PAS spiritual adviser Hashim Jasin.
He told Sinar Harian in an interview that the best time to “topple” Najib was during the elections.
“If Najib were to go now, his replacement might strengthen BN, similar to the time when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi replaced Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“Didn’t BN win big during the 2004 elections? BN will be stronger in the hands of a new leader.
“Najib is currently weak. We, as the opposition, should not work (towards strengthening BN). He is weak. Let it be,” said Hashim.
Since the fallout between DAP and PAS last year, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang appear increasingly friendly with Najib.
The duo has made public appearances together while Putrajaya has allowed for Hadi's motion to increase the penalty cap for Syariah courts to be debated in the Dewan Rakyat.
'We are not power crazy’
Meanwhile, Hashim said PAS wants straight fights during the upcoming general election, but any alliances must be premised on Islamic tenets.
This does not mean that PAS must take the lead in any cooperation.
“Anyone can lead... We are not (power) crazy (and bent on) becoming prime minister.
“I repeat, when we talk about Islam, anyone (can lead) as long as we are confident that this cooperation was in accordance to Islam.
“If Umno is Islamic, we can dissolve PAS. Therefore, anyone who wants to (implement) Islam, we will support.
“It doesn’t have to be PAS. If there are others who can really implement Islam, we will support,” he said.
He said it was important for PAS to set conditions for any political cooperation because of bad experiences with previous coalitions.
Decision soon
Meanwhile, Hashim refused to rule out cooperation with DAP and Amanah, which is a splinter group from PAS.
Asked on statements from PAS leaders that the party would not work with DAP or Amanah, Hashim said that their statements did not reflect the party stand.
“That was his interpretation and we don't look at it as a big issue. We have to take his feelings into consideration.
“We don’t know what DAP or Amanah did to him to push him into that situation,” he said.
He said that has been no formal discussions on cooperation with other parties as yet, although the Syura Council, which he leads, will discuss the matter on Dec 17.
He urged party members to have faith in the party leaders and a decision will be made in a way that would not betray the party members’ Islamic struggle.- Mkini
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