No surprise if 'sinister' Hadi behind plot to bring down Harapan: Khalid

Amanah communications director Khalid Abdul Samad would not be surprised if PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang was the one who initiated the move to bring down the Pakatan Harapan government.

"I'm not surprised if Hadi is one of the masterminds because it takes a sinister mind to do this.

"Hadi is very different from (former PAS president) the late Nik Abdul Aziz (Nik Mat) who would not have agreed to the Sheraton Move because he respected the mandate of the voters," Khalid (above, left) told the media outside the PKR headquarters in PJ after a Muda-Harapan discussion today.

"Hadi is very desperate to make sure PAS remains in power and Harapan loses theirs because the longer Harapan stays in power, the more famous we will become and the more difficult it will be for PAS to handle their own members and supporters," he said.

Khalid was previously with PAS before becoming part of the progressive leadership that broke away to form Amanah.

He said that Harapan had taken many actions and decisions good for Malay Muslims and the public.

"This includes upgrading the Syariah Court, salvaging Tabung Haji and giving oil royalties to Kelantan and Terengganu. All of these issues will be difficult for Hadi to handle and Hadi was desperate for Harapan to fall," he added.

Icerd, Rome Statute

Hadi recently said that after the Harapan administration tried unsuccessfully to ratify the Rome Statute and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Icerd), he saw it as proof that some of the Harapan component parties were anti-Islam.

After the two issues broke out, Hadi said he approached Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin to bring down the Harapan administration and negotiations were held with Umno following Muhyiddin’s greenlight.

Icerd is a treaty aimed at tackling racial discrimination in response to apartheid previously practised in South Africa, but seen as a threat to the special position of Malays and Islam, despite the then government’s reassurances that an “exception” would be made for privileges under Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

Meanwhile, ratifying the Rome Statute would confer recognition to the International Criminal Court (ICC), which drew concerns over whether the monarchs would fall under the ambit of the ICC. - Mkini