[UPDATED] BN’s non-Malay parties, Pakatan control economy, cause graft: Hadi

KUALA LUMPUR – PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has lumped Pakatan Harapan (PH) parties and non-Malay parties in Barisan Nasional (BN) together as those who control the economy and who contribute the most to corruption.

His remarks today on Facebook as part of his “Minda President PAS” (The PAS President’s Mind) message is a refrain to the controversy he stirred a month ago, when in condemning corruption, he accused non-Muslims of being the “root” of graft.

Today, Hadi said the fall of BN in the 2018 general election was not the fault of its lynchpin party Umno alone, but also due to the coalition’s non-Malay parties such as MCA and MIC, as well as the opposition.

“The weaknesses of the ruling BN, which saw its downfall in GE14, cannot be attributed to the Malay party Umno alone. In fact, (blame) should also be placed on BN together with non-Malay parties such as MCA and MIC, including the opposition, especially the parties within PH, who together with them control the economy and are the biggest and contribute the most to corruption and misconduct,” Hadi said today.

He then alluded that PH allowed bribery, saying “bribe givers are spared from legal action, especially when PH ruled for a short period of time.”

He then singled out former attorney-general Tommy Thomas – who was appointed to the post by the PH government – and said the latter had yet to explain the royal pardon granted to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who had been in jail for sodomy, and why DAP’s Lim Guan Eng was acquitted of corruption charges involving a bungalow purchase.

Hadi said this as part of his message that was centred on how Malay-Muslims had been weakened over time because they were divided – beginning first with the rise of Europe over the Islamic world and then colonisation, which he said marginalised the Malays in politics, economics, and education.

He said Chinese and Indians were brought in by the colonists and granting them the right of citizenship by birth “crippled” Malay-Muslims.

However, Hadi said Islam had taught Malays how to live in a pluralistic society so that they would not act aggressively towards other races.

“(This was) although they had to accept very negative effects in terms of politics, economy, and society,” he added.

As such, he said, Muslim unity must be prioritised before considering the participation of “non-Muslims who are not extreme”.

Hadi’s remarks last month that non-Muslims were the root of corruption saw numerous police reports lodged and an investigation launched against him. – The Vibes, September 25, 2022