PAS’s choice of Kelantan duo ‘shows focus on development’

 

Nassuruddin Daud (left), an ulama, took office as Kelantan’s new menteri besar last week, with former law lecturer Fadzli Hassan as his deputy.

PETALING JAYA: The appointment of an ulama and a professional as Kelantan’s menteri besar and deputy respectively is meant to give the impression that the PAS-led government is serious about developing the east coast state, an analyst said.

Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia said the Islamic party hoped to expand its support base beyond Kelantan by emphasising through its choice of state leaders that it was looking into development-related issues.

The state has been plagued by water woes and a lack of job opportunities and investments coming in, as well as poverty.

Nassuruddin Daud, an ulama, took office as Kelantan’s new menteri besar last week, with former law lecturer Fadzli Hassan as his deputy.

“The new leadership hopes to inspire confidence that they can govern well, by proving itself in Kelantan. And the party also wants to rejuvenate its support base,” said Azmil, who had previously written on PAS’s dominance in Kelantan,

He told FMT he also did not see the choice of an ulama-professional combination resulting in any rifts in the party, referring to the time a faction of professionals had left the party and subsequently formed Amanah in 2015.

He said the current ulama and professional faction in the party were almost ideologically similar.

“The previously more moderate professional faction had been purged from the party and later formed Amanah.”

Nassuruddin, the Kelantan PAS information chief, replaced Ahmad Yakob who, like previous menteris besar since 1990, had come from a religious background.

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Fadzli had a legal background and was a lecturer before joining politics.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania said as PAS leaders are focusing on winning the federal government at the next general election, a potential rift between the ulama and professional groups in the state government would be minimal.

He said if there is any disagreement between the two groups, their differences will be in the state development method.

“The tension is about how to develop Kelantan rather than ideological differences as there are not a lot of differences between ulama and professional groups (in PAS),” Chin said. - FMT