No more divorce oath for PAS candidates

PETALING JAYA: The “baiah talak tiga” or oath of loyalty that PAS required their elected representatives to take previously will likely not be enforced for the 14th general election (GE14), said the party’s deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

The oath, which was only implemented by PAS in Kelantan, required an elected representative to divorce his wife with “talak tiga” (irrevocable) if they join another party.

Tuan Ibrahim said there was no need to continue with the oath because the situation had changed and the Syura Council, the party’s highest policy-making body, no longer mandated the condition.

“The council will discuss the matter but it must be emphasised that Tok Guru Nik Aziz (Nik Mat) saw a need for the oath (when he was menteri besar of Kelantan).

“In principle, the council did not mandate the oath except in Kelantan at that time when we held only a one seat majority (in the state assembly),” he told a news conference ahead of the launching of the Gagasan Sejahtera coalition’s manifesto on March 18.

The coalition is made up of PAS, Berjasa and Parti Cinta Malaysia.

The “baiah” oath was introduced during PAS’ short-lived partnership with Semangat 46 in Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah in 1995 when their Kelantan state coalition government faced challenges due to the defections of several assemblymen.

Tuan Ibrahim said Kelantan PAS had so far not requested to maintain the oath for its elected representatives.

“The Syura Council has not received any request from Kelantan,” he said.

“We should understand that the principle of having the oath is to prevent elected representatives from betraying the trust of the people. How else can we prevent a seat won (on the PAS ticket) from being sold or the representative jumping to another party and disappointing the voters?”

Referring to the criticism by PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, who described the “bai’ah talak tiga” as a form of pawning wives, Tuan Ibrahim said she should not interfere since she was not a PAS candidate.

In another development, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said the party had settled 70% of its seat distribution in the country.

“The delay in resolving the remaining 30% is because of the Election Commission’s redelineation of electoral boundaries,” he added. FMT