SLIM POLLS | Former Perak menteri besar Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin today said that the "fatwa" declared by PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan directing PAS supporters to vote for the Umno/BN candidate in the Slim by-election has left them confused and dissatisfied.
"I was a PAS member for a long time," said Nizar (above) who currently represents Amanah but served as MB from 2008 to 2009 when he was in PAS.
"So far, there has been no ruling or directive to make it mandatory to support candidates who are not from the party," he said referring to the fatwa announced by Takiyuddin in a speech at the "Ceramah Bersama Lima Secretary-General" at the Felda Trolak Utara Multipurpose Hall in Slim last Sunday.
"If the candidate is from PAS, automatically party members must support their candidate, that is understandable. But this is the first time the PAS leadership, led by its secretary-general, has made a misleading fatwa," he told Malaysiakini after meeting with voters in Trolak Pekan yesterday.
In Takiyuddin's speech, the de facto law minister instructed PAS members and supporters to vote for BN candidate Mohd Zaidi Aziz in the Slim by-election this Saturday.
"We hope our candidate Zaidi will collect the most votes. In GE14, PAS contested to make it a three-cornered fight in Slim. BN got 8,327 votes, Bersatu received 6,144 and PAS got 4,103.
"So I, as the PAS secretary-general, make it mandatory for all PAS members to go out and vote for the BN candidate who represents us all," Takiyuddin had said.
Nizar claimed that many PAS members in Slim were not satisfied with the party's decision to support Umno candidates and that this had prompted Takiyuddin to make a mandatory fatwa for them to support BN.
The Sungai Rapat assemblyperson added that many PAS members today were aware and could draw their own conclusions between the Pejuang man Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi, who is a syariah lawyer, and Zaidi.
"You can only vote for one who has leadership characteristics. Amir has those characteristics compared to Zaidi.
"So now they are very confused with the PAS leadership's instructions. Because they feel Takiyuddin's instructions are impulsive and not in the right context," Nizar said.
The Slim state seat fell vacant after BN's Khusairi Abdul Talib passed away on July 15.
Amir is contesting as an independent candidate, as Pejuang is not yet formally registered. The new party is led by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Amir is the underdog against Zaidi. A third candidate, former teacher S Santharasekaran, is also contesting as an independent. - Mkini
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