The problem of Hasan Ali


PETALING JAYA: Will the PAS leadership take action against the party's Selangor commissioner Datuk Dr Hasan Ali for undermining Pakatan Rakyat (PR)?

Senior party leaders are unhappy with Hasan and Selangor PAS secretary Mohd Khairuddin Othman who backed his boss, Hasan, by saying that the party was ready to pull out of PR in Selangor if all its elected representatives agreed.

"The secretary had no right to say that. PAS has rules about such decisions and we are committed to staying in Pakatan. Even as the state commissioner, Hasan has no right to decide to pull out on his own," party vice-president Salahuddin Ayub told The Nut Graph today.

PAS central committee member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said such statements should not be allowed at a time when PR was in the midst of becoming a formal coalition.

He also hinted that the next central working committee meeting could possibly decide on action against Hasan, who is an executive councillor in the Selangor government.

"He should not be allowed to repeatedly make comments that undermine Pakatan. He should also remember that he is state commissioner by appointment. He was not elected," Dzulkefly told The Nut Graph in a phone interview today.

The latest of Hasan's controversial statements was on the state government's Select Committee on Competency, Accountability and Transparency (Selcat). Selcat has been questioning district officers about the spending of allocations by Barisan Nasional (BN) assemblypersons in two months just before the March 2008 general election.

While Hasan said he supported Selcat's intentions, he publicly criticised the manner in which the questioning was conducted, suggesting that the district officers had been treated like schoolchildren. He also suggested that Selcat members should comprise non-politically aligned persons like retired judges.

Following criticism of Hasan by other PAS leaders and Pakatan Rakyat colleagues, Mohd Khairuddin issued a statement that Selangor PAS was ready to leave PR.

Mohd Khairuddin's statement trigged the possibility of a hung assembly similar to Perak when three assemblypersons left PR to become BN-friendly independents.

PAS has eight state seats in Selangor, while Parti Keadilan Rakyat has 15 and DAP 13. BN has 20 seats and needs exactly eight more to have the 56-seat assembly hang.

Several attempts by The Nut Graph to contact Hasan proved futile.

Past confrontations
Prior to this, Hasan has been in the spotlight for attempting to ban the sale of beer in Muslim-majority areas. He had also asked for fellow executive councillor Ronnie Liu's portfolio to be changed after accusing the DAP elected representative of interfering in a local council seizure of beer from a 24-hours convenience store in Shah Alam. However, a licence is not required for the sale of beer, unlike liquor.

The beer sales spat between Hasan and Liu ended with the state government deciding to let convenience stores in Shah Alam practice self-regulation. Soon after, however, Hasan said he wanted to empower mosque officials to arrest Muslims if they drank alcohol. Hasan was then summoned by the Sultan of Selangor to explain the matter but the outcome of that meeting is not known.

In all these actions, Hasan is seen as attempting to undermine the cohesiveness of the Selangor PR government, something Dzulkefly does not deny.

"You cannot avoid perceiving it that way, can you?" Dzulkefly said.

He also took Mohd Khairuddin to task for claiming that Selangor PAS was willing to leave the PR alliance.

Dzulkefly said he had received text messages from PAS members in Perak, who were concerned at the possible scenario of a hung assembly following Hasan's defiance and Mohd Khairuddin's statement.

"He has no authority to say that. He is only an office-bearer at the state level. They must realise that they are in government because they are in a coalition. They should know that PAS alone could not have won. We cannot betray the trust of the rest of the coalition."

"We understand the anxiety. The central committee is united that something must be done."

Separately, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in a press statement today said the issues Hasan raised about Selcat would be addressed internally in a meeting on Monday, 28 Sept 2009.

Khalid is calling Selcat, the executive councillors and the district officers involved in the Selcat inquiries to the meeting for all parties to raise their concerns.

"I believe the issue is merely one of miscommunication between the above parties and therefore will be addressed internally.

"I am also confident that all parties are professional enough to understand the scope of responsibility that each of them holds and that they are able to work as a team to ensure that the state operates efficiently and effectively," he said.

Remember the unity talks?
Hasan has not always had a smooth working relationship with PKR and DAP colleagues over his Islamist stance.

Condemnation of him is the strongest this time around. Selcat chairperson and Selangor assembly Speaker Teng Chang Kim said Hasan was "the only problem" in PR Selangor government. DAP's Klang Member of Parliament Charles Santiago called for Hasan's removal as PAS state chief and executive councillor. DAP Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi also said Hasan should be given the sack lest he "help[s] Umno stage a Perak-like coup d'état".

After the opposition won Selangor in the 2008 general election, Hasan had reportedly discussed the possibility of a pact with the BN's Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo, the former Selangor menteri besar.

Salahuddin does not deny this, but said that those "were just talks. It doesn't mean he will join Umno".

That incident was more than a year ago, and in the interim, Hasan's other statements have spotlighted Selangor as the next PR state to fall into disarray after Perak. Interestingly, none of the more senior PAS leaders have publicly attempted to keep Hasan in line despite commitments to the national-level PR pact.

Bearing in mind that the top two PAS leaders were themselves supportive of unity talks with Umno, whatever reprimand Hasan receives, or not, will speak of the level of commitment to the PR pact.

The Nut Graph
26/09/09

2 comments:

Diversity Dude said...

Both my parents are Indian and Hindu; and I am an evolutionist.

PLEASE VOTE AGAINST UMNO IN ALL FUTURE ELECTIONS. Malaysian voters must come of age. Look at India. The Republic of India maintains good relations with Russia, France, USA, Israel, etc. Similarly, I will continue to maintain that it will be in the best interests of the Malaysian people to maintain good relations with all nations.

Until year 1980's and 1990's Indian politicians too had the bad habit of blaming all their woes on the USA and the CIA. By year 2000 everything changed and in the new India very few politicians blame USA and the CIA anymore because the voters no longer believe such propaganda. Now the Indian voters have come of age. Similarly, I hope Malaysian voters too would change and come of age. See India video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wP-TwHwLc98

JUST LIKE INDIAN VOTERS HAVE FINALLY COME OF AGE, IT IS TIME FOR MALAYSIANS TOO TO COME OF AGE. Politics in contemporary India is increasingly about economic developmental issues, not targeting a fictitious enemy like USA or CIA. Voters in India no longer want to hear about fictitious enemies like USA or CIA. Malaysian voters too must come of age.


Before year 2000 I used to deny that I was Indian. After year 2000 I am proud to be Indian. Before year 2000 was the old India; after year 2000 is the new India. Old India and New India are not the same. I have no problems with the new India. After year 2000 we can note that the Indian voters have come of age. After year 2000 Indian voters are more interested in local issues such as improved electricity, water, and roads.


In September 2009, some Muslims in Malaysia paraded a cow's head. The media has the right to highlight it. What is news? When a dog bites a man, it is not news worthy. But when a man bites a dog, it is news worthy. The media makes news judgement. The media must be given freedom to decide what is news worthy or not. Please leave the media alone.

Some Muslims decided to protest by carrying a cow's head. So what? They can carry a cow's head if they want to. Nobody should be offended by it. The best thing to do is to play down on it and ignore it. The main thrust for Hindus should and must be in giving a good education to their children. The world will become more competitive. It is the duty of all Hindus in Malaysia to take care of their own families. Please do take care of your own family. If you can, please do work at two jobs so that you can get extra money. So the goal of Hindu Malaysians should be EDUCATION and WORK.

Parading a severed cow's head should not perturb you. If it does perturb you, then you have only yourself to blame. Those people parading a cow's head look like comedians any way. Why are you perturbed by comedians? They say that laughter is the best medicine. It is good to have some comedy.

Some people carry a handbag, some people carry a shopping bag, some people carry a mango, and some people carry an umbrella. Different people carry different things. Similarly, people do have the right to carry and parade a severed cow's head, or for that matter, chicken wings, pig's ears, goat's feet, turtle shell, cat's tail, etc.

If the intention of the Muslim protesters is to encourage beef consumption, then I can assure you that more Hindus in Malaysia consume beef and pork nowadays. If the Muslim protesters regularly parade a severed cow's head, it may encourage beef consumption, which is a good thing. I hope the Muslim protesters promote beef consumption by parading a severed cow's head regularly. Cattle farmers will be supportive of the idea of increasing beef consumption. In fact, you can even persuade the cattle farmers to pay the Muslim protesters.

Diversity Dude said...

If the intention of the Muslim protesters is to encourage beef consumption, then I can assure you that more Hindus in Malaysia consume beef and pork nowadays. If the Muslim protesters regularly parade a severed cow's head, it may encourage beef consumption, which is a good thing. I hope the Muslim protesters promote beef consumption by parading a severed cow's head regularly. Cattle farmers will be supportive of the idea of increasing beef consumption. In fact, you can even persuade the cattle farmers to pay the Muslim protesters.

Incidentally, there are many Hindus in Malaysia who eat pork and beef. After you see a cow's head being paraded several times, then you would get used to it and it would no longer perturb you any more. The human mind has the capacity to de-sensitize. It may help to increase beef consumption. Wait a minute. Beef has high cholesterol but not as high as crustaceans.

Similarly, many Muslims consume pork too. Again, after eating pork for some time, you would get used to it. If you are non-Muslim, please do treat your Muslim friend to some pork food. Pork consumption may be irresistible to Muslims especially if non-Muslims pay for it.

Why are Muslims perturbed when a Hindu temple relocates to a Muslim majority area? Muslims do not have to enter the Hindu temple if they do not want to. There is no way the Hindu temple would perturb Muslims. I think the matter should be referred to the Judicial System. Muslims should stop over-reacting. The Muslims look like comedians when they overreact and carry a severed cow's head, parade it, and stomp it. What's the matter with the Muslims? I am a beef and pork eater and I would be glad to stomp a severed cow's head only if I am paid well enough.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_lBBx4UnoE


The human mind has the capacity to de-sensitize. There are people who make a living as butchers and people who do autopsies. We need butchers and autopsies. Hindus must come of age and accept butchers and autopsies, and all the other jobs as important to a socio-economic system. It is good that more Hindus are eating pork and beef these days. It is the duty of Hindu groups to prepare the Hindu youth for the 21st century. We have to detach food from divinity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R7eqMug-wo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udi8IpP3Uy8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVuIeK5_YuQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yZdBrwjFa8
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A Hindu temple, Sri Maha Mariamman temple from Section 19 needs to be relocated to Section 23. But the Muslim residents of Section 23 object to the relocation plan. So some Muslims carried a severed cow's head and made a protest march. It is the right of people to carry a severed cow's head. But objecting to the relocation of a Hindu temple to Section 23 is unreasonable. The presence of a Hindu temple in a Muslim majority area will in no way interfere in the daily lives of Muslims. May cool heads prevail. I hope we can find a solution.

Please vote against UMNO in all future elections. It is time for Malaysian voters to come of age and vote UMNO out of power.