KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 ― Former PAS vice-president Ahmad Awang declared today that he will make unity within the party and the opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition a priority ahead of the next national polls, as he formally accepted his nomination to contest the Islamist party's presidency.
He said "there is a need" for PAS to close ranks among its own members and also with their PR partners DAP and PKR ― who have been highly critical of incumbent President Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang for his tendency to act unilaterally and against decisions made by the PR presidential council.
"Today the PAS leadership repeated that it remains with PR, and I support that.
“But I see that the situation needs to be strengthened, especially as we head towards Putrajaya in the spirit of democracy," he said when met at the party headquarters here after formally accepting his nomination to contest the president's post.
"There is hope (for PR) in the next general election, because in the last elections PR managed to gain the popular vote," he added.
Ahmad is the first candidate to officially declare a challenge for the presidency in the party polls this June, setting up the first contest for the top post in the Islamist party's recent history.
DAP cut ties with Abdul Hadi in March after PAS-ruled Kelantan passed key amendments to its Shariah Criminal Code Enactment II to enable the eventual implementation of hudud in the state.
The crisis is far from over, as Abdul Hadi will again attempt to table a private member’s Bill in Parliament this month to remove legal barriers to the enforcement of hudud, in a move likely to renew and exacerbate hostilities among the supposed allies.
The current conflict over hudud is threatening a repeat of the clash that killed off the pact’s predecessor, Barisan Alternatif, with senior leaders such as DAP’s Lim Kit Siang already exploring a “post-PR” future.
Ahmad, who was instrumental in forging the alliance between the three PR partners to form the Perak state government in 2008, stressed today that the same principles of negotiation and "musyawarah", or cooperation, are needed to bring PR back on track.
He also shrugged off the fact that he received less than 10 nominations for the post out of nearly 200 party divisions, claiming that it is not indicative of how party delegates will vote come the June party polls.
"Even if 100 (divisions) sent in their nominations, there are another 60 or 70 that did not name anyone... that in itself also says something," he said without elaborating.
