KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 — PAS said it will reconsider its relationship with its Gagasan Sejahtera ally and former splinter party Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) following the latter’s decision to contest the Tanjung Piai by-election.
The Islamist party’s president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang was quoted as saying Berjasa still went ahead with nominating its president Datuk Badhrulhisham Abdul Aziz even when PAS had disagreed with the move.
“We disagreed with him contesting. We will further study our cooperation with Berjasa from time to time,” Malay daily Berita Harian reported him as saying, referring to Badhrulhisham.
The Gagasan Sejahtera pact is a political pact established in 2016 headed by PAS, with Berjasa and Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia as its allies.
Abdul Hadi also reiterated the party’s call for its supporters in Tanjung Piai to vote for Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng from MCA.
However, when asked to comment on Wee’s opposition to the controversial Islamic penal law of hudud, Abdul Hadi said that was the MCA man’s personal view.
Last week, Badhrulhisham was officially named as a candidate, after announcing he would contest to express his disappointment with BN for choosing to field MCA’s Wee instead of a Malay-Muslim candidate.
The PAS ally and committee member of Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) claimed BN’s move was not in line with the aspirations of Malay-Muslims, and alleged Wee’s candidacy will shrink Malay political power and diminish Islam’s status.
In response, PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan had reportedly told members to not give Berjasa even “a single vote”.
He later said that PAS is backing MCA because the Opposition bloc needs non-Muslims who are not extremists like MCA as elected representatives.
The Tanjung Piai constituency is a mixed seat comprising 57 per cent Malays, 42 per cent Chinese and 1 per cent Indians.
Polling is scheduled for November 16.
