KUALA LUMPUR, June 11 — Many PAS members are unhappy with the near-total wipeout of progressives from all leadership posts, one defeated candidate said today, but stressed that this does not mean they should consider quitting the party altogether.

Kuala Krai MP Dr Hatta Ramli said despite the general dissatisfaction, PAS progressives should not dwell on the idea of leaving and should focus on re-energising the party as well as the ailing Pakatan Rakyat (PR) pact.

“I can tell you that many of PAS members are not very happy with the current situation and Pakatan Rakyat is not in the best of health.

“I think we should not dwell into that (leaving PAS) at the moment,” he said on the sidelines of the announcement of a fundraising dinner for the Kelantan flood victims, led by DAP’s charity arm Impian Kelantan.

Dr Hatta added that while events at the PAS muktamar were of concern, it was still important that members of the Islamist party work towards keeping Pakatan Rakyat (PR) together.

“We just had our AGM and there were some serious issues arising from that so I think we should be taking things rather coolly and not make any decisions that may disrupt the party as a whole.

“So what we should do as responsible leaders is even though we’re out of the line-up, we should concentrate on our original effort to strengthen Pakatan Rakyat, whatever it takes and however we have to do it,” he said

The former PAS central committee member also suggested that PAS discuss with DAP to ensure PR remains intact.

“We’ll try to discuss with PKR and even DAP because apparently we’re not broken up with DAP yet so we should persist on with that. We’re not going to run away from our role of strengthening Pakatan Rakyat,” he said.

Last weekend, the PAS muktamar approved a motion to stay in Pakatan Rakyat (PR) but cut ties with DAP without debate, although secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali insisted later that this still needs the endorsement of its advisory Syura Council.

The decision was an escalation of the hostilities between the two parties that traces back to last year’s Selangor mentri besar crisis, but is largely rooted in the fundamental differences between the Islamist PAS and secular DAP, particularly over issues like hudud.

Since the election, DAP leaders have been challenging their PAS colleagues in the Penang and Selangor administrations to relinquish their posts and leave the government.

PKR, on the other hand, has offered to act as mediator between the two warring parties, saying it is necessary to keep the PR pact intact.