KUALA LUMPUR, April 18 — PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan admitted today that his Islamist party is “poor”, but asserted that it has never taken any money from political foe Umno, let alone RM90 million in donation as alleged.

He added that his party would never take Umno’s money even if it was handed to them as PAS has its way of raising its own funds, including collecting fees at its political events and through donations from its members and supporters.

“Let me make this clear, the party’s main source of income is the membership fees paid by our members.

“When you become a lifetime member, you will pay RM100. Now, PAS has about one million members so you can make the calculations yourself,” he said at a press conference at its headquarters in Jalan Raja Laut here.

Takiyuddin said PAS also charges an unspecified entrance fee to its members and supporters who attend its annual party gathering, which it calls a muktamar.

“When we organise a muktamar, the entrance fee depends on the size of membership at each area.

“I can’t recall the minimum amount that we charge but the fee increases per additional 1,000 attendees at a particular area because we would add in an extra delegate.

“We made it so to encourage people to come in flocks. The more people signed up, the more delegates will be present and the more fundings for the party,” he said.

Takiyuddin said PAS may not be financially well-to-do, but it is “rich” in terms of the people’s support, as evident from the donations received over the years.

“We do not care where or who the donations come from but we have never taken from Umno.

“We have this one loyal supporter who would frequently give us RM10 alongside a note. We really appreciate that.

“It is not about the sum but the support that pushes us to stay fighting,” he said.

He stressed that there is no element of corruption in the funding because PAS accepts all kinds of donation with no consideration given to the donors.

“There is nothing that we can give back or that they can expect from us so corruption is out of the equation.

“It is not your business to question where PAS gets its funding from but if you have proof that it is ‘dirty money’, feel free to lodge a report to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission,” he said.

On April 21 last year, president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang filed a defamation suit against Sarawak Report editor Claire Rewcastle Brown for claiming that he received a RM90 million bribe from the government.

The legal process is still ongoing at the London High Court and scheduled for trial on April 30.