PASIR MAS – Former PAS leader Datuk Mahfuz Omar has chastised the party as a flip-flop political outfit after the leak of a document showing the Islamist party purportedly conspiring to work with anybody to stay in power.
Datuk Mahfuz Omar, who is now Amanah vice-president, said that PAS’ move to deny the documents depicting it as backstabbing Umno and other quarters has caused people to lose trust in the party.
“This shows that PAS has no principled stance. Its leaders just want to stay in power. The people can now see for themselves what PAS stands for,” he said during a rally organised by Amanah here last night. His speech was reported by the Malaysia Dateline portal.
This is not the first time that such alleged behaviour has occurred, he claimed.
Previously, there was a leak of an audio recording supposedly of a PAS leader discussing how the party received money from Umno, he said.
The leaked document, with contents rubbished as untrue by various implicated individuals, is purportedly a summary of recent meetings held by PAS vice-president Datuk Seri Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar and PAS secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan with the leaderships of Bersatu, Pejuang and Umno.
Samsuri, who is the Terengganu menteri besar, has denied such meetings took place, saying the document is false in the first place. Other leaders have also refuted such talks.
Mahfuz, a former youth chief of PAS, was with the party for 34 years before he joined splinter party Amanah in March 2018. He is currently a four-term MP for Pokok Sena in Kedah.
He alleged that the document illustrated PAS wanting to discuss alliances with the likes of Amanah, PKR and then Bersatu.
“This shows it has disregarded the Muafakat Nasional pact it has with Umno,” he said, calling it an unprincipled move.
He urged Amanah in Kelantan to be prepared to take over from PAS which rules over the state, as the people are beginning to realise the follies of the party they had supported since 1990.
“If not PAS, who else, save Amanah, is the movement suitable to lead Kelantan?”
Amanah was set up by the followers of the long-serving Kelantan menteri besar and PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Paduka Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who passed on in 2015.
‘People left hungry, but not due to fasting’
He urged Amanah to build the trust of the people based on its determination to serve with sincerity and regain political support, as many quarters have become disillusioned with how politicians are leading the country now.
“Today, people are hungry not because they are fasting. It is due to the rising living costs, which have forced them to cut back on purchasing food,” he said.
The pandemic has caused many people to lose their jobs, and now, they are slapped with the escalating costs with no solutions to lower them, he added.
The present government, which he said came about through a backdoor move, is displaying incompetence in handling crises inundating the country, he added.
The government can only think of offering subsidies to arrest the price increases.
“The real issue is the cost of production. We should address the root cause of inflation,” he said.
Mahfuz urged Amanah to focus on “bread and butter” issues confronting the country rather than be dragged by PAS into polemic issues, which he said does not create quality jobs. – The Vibes, April 23, 2022
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