KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 — A political analyst has last night highlighted yet another dimension of the contest between Opposition parties Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) and PAS, as both try to vie for anti-establishment votes.
Political scientist Wong Chin Huat said the rivalry between PPBM chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang dates back all the way to 1981.
“At that time, four months before Hadi had come into power for PAS, he made a religious sermon claiming those who supported Umno where infidels,” he said at the “Malaysia Decides 2018: Continuity or Change?” forum last night.
Dr Mahathir was elected as prime minister in 1981 and was at that time Umno president.
Hadi’s sermon in Kuala Terengganu then had since been known as “Amanat Haji Hadi”, or Hadi’s Mandate, which dubbed supporters of the Islamist party as jihadists, while those who oppose them as infidels.
Wong explained the relationship between the two figures soured further when Hadi went on to say PAS rejected the Barisan Nasional (BN) government because it had preserved colonial institutions and its legacy, including “infidelic” laws.
Between 1974 and 1978, PAS itself had been part of BN.
“PAS had at that time claimed they wanted to fully decolonise the country if they came into power and introduce the Shariah law,” he said.
Fast forward to today, Wong said the tussle between the two remains, but in attracting the support of those harbouring anti-establishment sentiments, specifically the Malays.
PAS had contested the previous elections in opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat before it left, replaced by its splinter Parti Amanah Negara and PPBM in the new Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“The whole question is whether Mahathir’s Bersatu can replace PAS [in PH],” he said, referring to PPBM.
Wong said the fight would be whether voters would sway towards PAS’ religious nationalist views, or PPBM’s economic nationalism.
