KUALA LUMPUR – PAS Youth has accused Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi of going overboard in attacking its party leader Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, as ties between the two Muafakat Nasional (MN) parties continue to disintegrate.
Its chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari said PAS had been patient over the past year, despite a series of statements slamming the Islamist party, but described Zahid’s latest remark as going overboard.
This concerns the Umno president’s statement yesterday suggesting Hadi should change his profession from a politician to a zoologist after the latter labelled Umno as a “lame duck”.
Fadlhi noted that this is not the first time Zahid had criticised PAS, pointing to a social media post the latter had made in December.
“You wrote that a religious person should follow authentic scriptures and not manipulate religious laws based on political whims and fancies, to achieve political goals.
“We know who that post was targeted at, but we did not respond because we know many in Umno still love our ummah unity,” he said in his Facebook post today.
Fadhli said throughout last year, several statements issued by Terengganu and Kelantan Umno leaders had also attacked PAS, but his party opted to remain silent to avoid further tension.
“But when our president responded to an allusion of an Umno veteran describing PAS as trying to teach a duck swim, by merely saying that we were trying to help a lame duck, Ahmad Zahid was so angry, that he suggested our president to be a zoologist.
“If responding in such a manner can be labelled a zoologist, then what are you? A sorcerer who is sick when he needs to go to court but can be immediately healthy after?
“Or are you the zoologist whose expertise is on chameleons, which can change colours as quick as a lightning bolt?”
PAS and Umno leaders have been trading barbs in recent weeks, with the former appearing to favour cooperation with Bersatu and the latter now seemingly comfortable with going it alone (through Barisan Nasional) in elections.
Last week, PAS information chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin had said the recent betrayals by certain factions within Umno have forced his party to contemplate cutting all ties with its MN partner.
The two political parties are set to compete against each other in the coming Johor polls, similar to their contests in Melaka recently. – The Vibes, February 6, 2022
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