KUALA LUMPUR: Former PAS vice-president Datuk Nakhaie Ahmad has described the recent public disagreement between the Islamist party leaders over cooperation with Umno as a sign of PAS’s political immaturity.
Nakhaie, who now heads government Islamic agency, Yadim, left the party in the late 1980s due to internal pressure and joined Umno months later.
“What was PAS’s proposal about? Was it between Umno and PAS or between all parties? And many other things were not explained, so it shows the party leaders do not possess the required intellectual capacity to defend the idea, so they rejected it and blamed others,” said Nakhaie in an interview with The Malaysian Insider.
While PAS suffered a crisis of confidence as a result of the proposal, Nakhaie believed Umno too was damaged.
“The idea was not accepted by the Chinese, including MCA, it causes anxiety among the community,” said Nakhaie.
The unity government proposal was mooted by party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang last March, but he withdrew the proposal soon after Datuk Seri Najib Razak took over the government.
Hadi however defended the idea at the recently concluded PAS annual general assembly or muktamar, but early this week the party together with its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners buried the unity government proposal amid intense debate within the Islamist party.
Nakhaie added that PAS is also fond of making decisions on an ad hoc basis, citing the Islamic state concept which used to be the objective of the party as an example.
“What does PAS stand for? They like to say Islamic state, but what is Islamic state? It was never explained, and because it wasn’t clear so it is no longer brought up,” he said.
“Because the rhetoric was not supported by a clear political idea, they could change their positions, sometimes they go against what they used to fight for,” said Nakhaie.
He said that PAS’s weaknesses resulted in the party playing second fiddle to its PR partners.
Nakhaie also spoke of an attempt by the party before the 1986 general election where it formed and led a coalition called Harakah Keadilan Rakyat with other political parties and non-Muslim organisations.
“It was led by PAS and we called for meetings. It was a loose coalition, for dialogue, it became a platform to promote Islam, so people do not fear us,” said Nakhaie.
“But in Pakatan Rakyat, PAS is just a ‘yes man’,” he added.
MI
26/06/09
Nakhaie, who now heads government Islamic agency, Yadim, left the party in the late 1980s due to internal pressure and joined Umno months later.
“What was PAS’s proposal about? Was it between Umno and PAS or between all parties? And many other things were not explained, so it shows the party leaders do not possess the required intellectual capacity to defend the idea, so they rejected it and blamed others,” said Nakhaie in an interview with The Malaysian Insider.
While PAS suffered a crisis of confidence as a result of the proposal, Nakhaie believed Umno too was damaged.
“The idea was not accepted by the Chinese, including MCA, it causes anxiety among the community,” said Nakhaie.
The unity government proposal was mooted by party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang last March, but he withdrew the proposal soon after Datuk Seri Najib Razak took over the government.
Hadi however defended the idea at the recently concluded PAS annual general assembly or muktamar, but early this week the party together with its Pakatan Rakyat (PR) partners buried the unity government proposal amid intense debate within the Islamist party.
Nakhaie added that PAS is also fond of making decisions on an ad hoc basis, citing the Islamic state concept which used to be the objective of the party as an example.
“What does PAS stand for? They like to say Islamic state, but what is Islamic state? It was never explained, and because it wasn’t clear so it is no longer brought up,” he said.
“Because the rhetoric was not supported by a clear political idea, they could change their positions, sometimes they go against what they used to fight for,” said Nakhaie.
He said that PAS’s weaknesses resulted in the party playing second fiddle to its PR partners.
Nakhaie also spoke of an attempt by the party before the 1986 general election where it formed and led a coalition called Harakah Keadilan Rakyat with other political parties and non-Muslim organisations.
“It was led by PAS and we called for meetings. It was a loose coalition, for dialogue, it became a platform to promote Islam, so people do not fear us,” said Nakhaie.
“But in Pakatan Rakyat, PAS is just a ‘yes man’,” he added.
MI
26/06/09
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