SUNGAI PETANI, Sept 2 — PAS Vice-President Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said today there is no problem for the Islamist party to lead the country as experience is not needed to hold the prime minister post.
He said in Malaysia only Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had prior experience of serving as a PM before being elected, adding that it is an “easy job” since the country possesses incredible civil servants backing the leader.
“The PM is like a landlord. When he wants to build some building in his land, he has the money and can call the architect to design and contractors to build,” he said when officiating the PAS Supporters’ Congress (DHPP) Convention at Gandhi Hall here.
“This is what PAS leaders like Nik Aziz did when he took over Kelantan in 1990. We have no experience but we have a vision,” he added, referring to the late Datuk Seri Nik Abd Aziz Nik Mat.
This came as Mohd Amar said exhorted the DHPP to “sell” PAS’ image to the non-Muslims.
He added that PAS, which currently governs Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, has shown that it could take care of non-Muslims — claiming no oppression towards the minorities there — despite its three “inexperienced” leaders there.
“In Kelantan, the mentri besar is from a religious background, in Terengganu, we have a professional and in Kedah, we have a party activist.
“These three have no experience in governing, they were not state officers before, but they show with the correct policy and clear vision, they could govern,” he said.
Mohd Amar said it is imperative that DHPP correct the negative view of PAS, especially among non-Muslims as it has gotten so bad now that they no longer wanted to vote for the Islamist party even in Kelantan — which he had simply blamed on DAP.
“Umno used to give Malays a bad impression of PAS. And for several years now, DAP has given a bad impression to non-Malays “In Kelantan almost 90 per cent of Chinese rejected PAS candidates. The view needs to be broken because that’s why this PAS for all tag should be spread again,” he said.
DHPP chief N. Balasubramaniam later said the wing is ready with the strategy to inform the non-Muslim voters of PAS’ policy, which he think will be good for the country by mentioning the way the Islamist party had governed Kelantan for 32 years.
“We have understood that when we bring Islamic policies, it is fair for all, let’s take the example of Kelantan where there is a racial issue? There is no racial issue in the state of Kelantan.
“If PAS governs, I hope there is no racism in this country of Malaysia. If there is a government (PAS) the economy will recover and be good. We see it in these new Kedah and in Terengganu,” he told reporters afterwards.
The DHPP was formed back in 2010 and created as PAS’s response to its growing influence among the non-Malays.
The formation of the wing was also part of PAS’s bid to boost its moderate image after the 2008 general election, when the combined efforts of PAS, DAP and PKR denied Barisan Nasional (BN) its traditional parliamentary supermajority.
