PAS man should look in mirror, not scapegoat DAP: Aziz Bari

 

DAP’s Abdul Aziz Bari has urged Perak PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria to be more honest with himself rather than blame DAP for his party’s failures.

Speaking to Malaysiakini, the Tebing Tinggi assemblyperson claimed that Razman is not well-versed in the country’s political history.

“Razman needs to be more honest and take a good look in the mirror instead of scapegoating DAP. He obviously is a latecomer to politics and is unaware of certain things,” he said.

Aziz’s (above) comments came after Razman claimed that while PAS had previously worked with DAP, it distanced itself from a DAP that was now a “rotten fish”.

Razman went on to attack Umno for being willing to work with DAP, particularly in Perak after the 2022 state election, when no coalition held a convincing majority, with Perikatan Nasional winning 26 seats, Pakatan Harapan 24 and BN nine.

Harapan and BN formed a pact, leading to Umno’s Saarani Mohamad’s reappointment as Perak menteri besar.

Perak PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria

What happened to hudud push?

Aziz pointed out that DAP never hindered PAS, and the Islamist party will only shout “Islam is in danger” when it is out of power.

“PAS embraced Malay unity and dominance after the 2018 general election and curiously abandoned the struggle for an Islamic state and hudud law.

“PAS stopped pursuing those goals when it became part of the PN government, which took power through the back door in March 2020. Even today, these issues are still missing from the party’s manifesto,” Aziz noted.

He also challenged the narrative that PAS left the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in 2015 due to disagreements over implementing the hudud law in Kelantan.

Aziz clarified that this was not the case, adding that hudud was never included in Pakatan’s Orange Book, which was co-signed by PKR, DAP, and PAS.

“I believe PAS left more due to internal power struggles, especially between the then-progressive wing or ‘Anwaristas’ and the clerics who were more inclined towards Umno, led by Najib Abdul Razak.

“I told PAS at the time that if they were serious about implementing hudud, they should have a blueprint for it, as constitutional issues needed to be clarified. But they never did,” Aziz, who is a constitutional expert, added. - Mkini