KUALA LUMPUR, June 12 — A group of 12 Jelebu PAS leaders resigned today, citing their loss of confidence in the Islamist party’s leadership, which is now dominated by the conservative ulama or clergy faction.

The chapter’s Youth chief Mohd Faizal Fadli Idrus said after the near-total wipeout of the progressives in the just-concluded muktamar via allegedly unscrupulous means, the members lost faith in the party.

“We have lost confidence in the new PAS leadership. The results of the last muktamar was disappointing, especially to see moves employed by certain parties to block out the progressives from the top leadership,” he told Malay Mail Online today.

Faizal also said it was unbecoming for an Islamist party to use the “cai paper” or menu for the polls, much like that used by the Ulama faction to listed down the candidates it endorsed.

He added that the party’s Jelebu members were also quite dismayed that the motion to sever ties with DAP was passed without debate and warned of possible repercussions to Pakatan Rakyat (PR), should the resolution be seriously adopted.

“We are disappointed by the decision to cut ties with DAP, because this is not looking at the bigger picture.

“The bigger picture here is that PR will be affected and this will complicate things for the country,” Faizal added.

Last week, the Islamist party confirmed its decision to sever ties with DAP while still remaining in PR with PKR, after approving a motion without debate in their muktamar or annual congress.

Since then, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has pushed for the resignation of Penang PAS leaders, accusing them of undermining the DAP administration by holding onto their positions.

The DAP had cut ties with PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang last March, but not the Islamist opposition party itself, after Hadi tabled a private member’s Bill in Parliament to remove legal obstacles that prevent the implementation of hudud in Kelantan.

The secular party, however, has yet to decide if it will end its relationship with PAS after the controversial motion at the muktamar, with DAP national Liew Chin Tong saying Wednesday that it is up to the central executive committee to decide on his party’s ties with PAS.