'PAS will ride the Malay tsunami, not Bersatu'

INTERVIEW | The possibility of a "Malay tsunami" rising against BN has been repeatedly played up by Pakatan Harapan, particularly by Bersatu, amid concerns over the rising cost of living and graft.

Johor PAS chief Abdullah Husin believes, however, that it is his party who stands to profit from a "Malay tsunami," not Bersatu.

Abdullah acknowledged the growing desire for change among the Malay community, but claimed Bersatu would not be their first choice due to its association with DAP – which is often accused of being anti-Islam.

"Most Malays are very religious, they don't like working together with DAP. They will not support (Bersatu)," he told Malaysiakini in an interview in Kuala Lumpur.

Abdullah claimed that the same voters had refused to support PAS in previous elections due to its own association with DAP.

"But now that PAS has split up with DAP, they will have no problem voting PAS,” he said.

Furthermore, he added that Malays could see the party’s consistentcy in matters of religion and welfare.

"PAS ruled Kelantan for 28 years and not a single menteri besar, exco or elected representative was charged with corruption. 28 years is a good record," he said.

Despite believing that a "Malay tsunami" could occur, Abdullah acknowledged that the wave may not reach all of Johor, which has a more ethnically diverse demographic than its traditional stronghold, the east coast.

Abdullah also stated that Johor PAS is aiming to capture just under a quarter of the seats in the State Assembly, or 12 of the 56 seats, as well as seven of the 26 parliamentary seats.

PAS won four state seats and no parliamentary seats in Johor during the last general election.

It is now down to three state seats after Parit Yaani assemblyperson Aminolhuda Hassan, the former Johor PAS chief, quit the party to join Amanah. He now leads the splinter party’s Johor chapter.

Amanah, which was formed in Johor, claims it has crippled PAS by absorbing half of the its assets and machinery throughout the state. It is predicting a complete PAS wipeout in the coming polls.

However, Abdullah begged to differ, claiming that the defections amounted to just 15 percent of the state chapter's members at most, a number that has already been replenished by new recruits.

"It was only the famous faces such as Aminolhuda, Mazlan Aliman, Salahuddin Ayub and Dzulkefly Ahmad who left, but the members remained," he claimed.

Chinese support and PAS

Abdullah also acknowledged that PAS had relied on significant Chinese support in the last general election.

In Puteri Wangsa, for example, PAS won the Chinese-majority constituency by 20,357 votes to BN's 16,888 votes in 2013.

Ask about the likelihood of Chinese voters dumping PAS now that it was no longer allied with Pakatan Harapan, Abdullah said this was not necessarily the case.

"The perception that the Chinese do not support PAS has yet to be tested.

"In the past, we didn't get many Malay votes, but now Malay votes will increase. The Chinese votes may go down, but it will not be completely gone.

"We will still have a chance," he insisted.

Abdullah, who was the Johor PAS ulama chief for 20 years, had made the step up to state chief last year due to the vacuum created after the exodus to Amanah.

He remains upbeat about PAS’ chances in Johor, but it remains to be seen if the party will ride the possible “Malay tsunami,” or be drowned by it. -Mkini