KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 — The lines are drawn between the fundamentalists and liberals, or popularly known as the Erdogans, in the upcoming PAS election as the list of contestants are finalised and candidates ready to fight it out.
The deputy president post sees incumbent Mohamad Sabu, or Mat Sabu, being challenged by Kelantan Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah — a contest that will indicate the direction the party heads after the elections.
Similar battle lines have also been drawn for the vice-president posts, where the three incumbents Datuk Husam Musa (picture), Datuk Mahfuz Omar and Sallehuddin Ayub are being challenged by fundamentalist party information chief Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and Ulama council member Abu Bakar Chik.
The party has been split between veteran fundamentalists and liberals in the past decade with each faction pulling the party in different ways, to the extent that party members are split.
The fundamentalists have been helming the party based on its struggle in championing Islam with the objective of setting up an Islamic state and implementation of Hudud.
The liberals are more interested in winning the general election and helm Putrajaya.
The Islamic party has been working together with DAP since the 80’s in every general election but their co-operation has always been on the surface — fielding candidates on constituencies based on racial majority where each did not question the other’s philosophy and concept.
However, the party was put in an awkward situation when Parti Keadilan Rakyat came into being, testing PAS on several basic principles.
In doing so, the party leadership has been ‘playing tug-of-war’ with liberals supporting PKR and DAP on many sensitive issues regarding Islam while fundamentalists continue with their stand, opposing the statements made by liberals.
