PARTI Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang has escalated his clash with DAP by dismissing four Malay leaders in the party as lacking knowledge, while defending his controversial views on Islam as rooted in religious texts and DAP’s own political record.
The remarks sharpen a widening political dispute that has revived questions over the ideological differences that ultimately fractured the former Pakatan Rakyat alliance between PAS and DAP.
The four DAP leaders — vice-chairman Syahredzan Johan, assistant publicity secretary Young Syefura Othman, Central Executive Committee member Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali and Bukit Bendera MP Syerleena Abdul Rashid — had criticised Abdul Hadi’s latest Minda Presiden PAS column, “The Islamic State and Its Relations with Non-Muslims”.
“(They are) Malays who have not studied. They have not studied,” Hadi was quoted as saying by Sinar Harian after delivering his kuliah duha at Rusila Mosque on Friday.
The Marang MP insisted that his arguments were not merely political rhetoric, saying they were based on the Quran, hadith and DAP’s own constitutional documents and statements.
“What I say is substantive and based on the Quran and hadith. I write based on the Quran and hadith… and I refer to what is stated in the DAP constitution and the written statements of its leaders,” he said.
His latest broadside comes as both sides revisit their years of cooperation under Pakatan Rakyat, which collapsed amid deep disagreements over PAS’ Islamic agenda and DAP’s opposition to several of the Islamist party’s policies.
Hadi said the cooperation had always been subject to conditions, including an understanding that partners would not oppose PAS policies.
He argued that the alliance broke down after DAP began publicly challenging those policies, citing disputes over restrictions on alcohol sales to Muslims in Kelantan and opposition to Bill 355, which seeks to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act.
“The ban on alcohol in Kelantan applies only to Muslims, not non-Muslims. As for Bill 355, it is Islamic legislation intended to educate, including changing the punishment of whipping from one that causes injury to one intended for rehabilitation, yet they opposed it.”
Hadi also invoked his past dealings with senior DAP figures to support his argument that disagreements were rooted in political considerations rather than a lack of dialogue.
“I have personally held dialogues with Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Lim Guan Eng and Tan Seng Giaw. When we explained the issues, some of them were receptive, but some were sacked or removed from DAP, while others were afraid that Chinese voters would not vote for them,” he said.
The dispute centres on Hadi’s wider criticism of secularism, which he described in his article as a misguided doctrine introduced by colonial powers and alleged was still being promoted by media outlets supportive of DAP.
His latest comments are likely to further intensify the political contest between PAS and DAP over competing interpretations of Islam’s role in governance, particularly as both parties seek to consolidate support among Malay and Muslim voters. - August 21, 2026
