The raging unity government idea ended up being a dud with PAS eventually dousing it with cold water. But Umno - which is left licking its wounds - is still simmering.
Over the weekend, PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat rubbed salt into the injury, earning him a police report and a whacking in the Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia.
Speaking at a ceramah in his home state, the Kelantan menteri besar fires a vitriolic attack on Umno in the presence of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, who was once Umno's deputy president.
Seeing red over this, Kelantan Umno Youth accused Nik Aziz of sedition and filed a police report against the Islamic party leader in Kota Bharu today.
The movement's chief Anuar Safian, who was accompanied by about 100 supporters, claimed that the PAS leader's remarks had the potential to stoke tension among the people.
And what did Nik Aziz say?
According to the Utusan article yesterday, which described him as a politician fond of making sharp U-turns, the opposition stalwart had called Umno a deviant movement and likened it to communism.
Piling up the insults, he had even likened Umno to Ayah Pin, the famous self-styled spiritual master who led the Sky Kingdom cult in Terengganu whose enclave was dotted with numerous eyebrow raising structures, including a giant tea pot.
"Umno is a deviant organisation, just like Ayah Pin," he had thundered during the ceramah.
"Umno and the communist are the same. Umno is a socialist party because it rejects Islam. Umno is a Malay party not an Islamic party," he was quoted as saying.
'They have no shame'
The hard-hitting remarks were made in view of the unity-government talks that had threatened to rip apart the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat comprising PAS, DAP and PKR.
"How can we come to an agreement with Umno?" Nik Aziz posed the question to his audience.
"They are now asking us to forget the past and unite with them. They have no shame," he added.
Commenting on this, Kelantan Umno's Annuar said: "The allegations had ridiculed the country's history and constitution as Umno upheld Islam and brought development to the people."
He also stressed that Nik Aziz had angered and upset Umno members and the people.
The unity-government proposal was first mooted by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and the idea was welcomed by Umno, including its president Najib Abdul Razak.
However, it met stiff resistance from other PAS leaders, namely Nik Aziz. Also objecting were DAP and PKR.
A fuming Nik Aziz had even called on the party's deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa to quit PAS and join Umno for supporting the talks.
'Political animal'
Picking on this episode, the Utusan article quipped: "Nik Aziz was too emotional because there were certain quarters trying to derail his ambition of becoming prime minister."
In the thick of battle, suddenly a news report emerged, just hours before his Sunday ceramah, that the PAS spiritual leader had warmed up to the idea of holding talks with Umno.
The next day, the Pakatan leadership issued a joint statement rejecting the possibility of forming a unity government with Umno or Barisan Nasional.
That night, Nik Aziz forgave Nasharuddin, telling him that he could remain in PAS, but lashed out at Umno and the mainstream media for blowing matters out of proportion.
"This is the Nik Aziz we know," read the Utusan article. "He can make sharp U-Turns. And this why we say he is not a tok guru (spiritual leader) but a 'political animal'."
25/06/09
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment