KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 — PAS’ main intention to topple the ruling government by describing the action as wajib (obligatory) is a form of religious manipulation aimed at achieving its political agenda, according to political analysts.
Prof Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) said this could be said about the party by looking at its struggles after being in the oppositions over the past 60 years.
“PAS is a nationalist party. Its so-called Islamic-based struggles do not necessarily mean that the party can arbitrarily call it wajib or haram (forbidden) to ‘work’ with any political party.”
He said this in response to the remarks made by PAS Dewan Ulama chief Datuk Dr Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh at the recently-concluded PAS Muktamar in Kuantan, Pahang, that toppling the ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) government was a wajib thing to do.
Azizuddin’s view was shared by UUM assistant vice-chancellor, Associate Professor Dr Muhammad Fuad Othman, who said that PAS liked putting pressure on other political parties by issuing statements on Islam and its laws.
“I see that PAS has a high tendency to associate religion with its struggle...its struggle for a long time has only been about power...using Islam purportedly for politics does not reflect the true meaning of its real struggle.
“What the PH government is doing now is the repair-and-correction process. PAS does not have to interfere by making statements of revenge,” he said while suggesting that PH take a ‘quick fix and quick win’ approach to improve its own performance.
Meanwhile, Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia said having been so long in the opposition, it was no secret that PAS had always wanted to bring down the ruling party in the country.
“They tried to bring Umno down before, then PH took over power, but PAS’ agenda remains the same.
“Now, PAS thinks by forging political cooperation with Umno can make it stronger to topple PH, but it is not as easy as it seems,” he said.
Whatever PAS is doing, Sivamurugan said the PH leadership should not be intimidated and should continue to focus on issues relating to the rising cost of living and employment opportunities to regain its popularity and the people’s confidence. — Bernama
