KUALA LUMPUR – PAS should name its candidate for prime minister if it is confident that the party is capable of having someone from its ranks take the post, said Amanah central leadership committee member Muhammad Faiz Fadzil.
Responding to PAS vice-president Datuk Mohd Nik Amar Nik Abdullah, who recently claimed that the premiership was well within the Islamist party's reach, Faiz said this was “wishful thinking” and likened it to the Malay folklore of Mat Jenin, the dreamer youth who perished after ignoring his own responsibilities.
Faiz said PAS is mistaken to assume that the role of prime minister is an easy task, claiming the party was incapable of ensuring political stability, even though it was part of the government.
Faiz, who is also Permatang Pasir assemblyman, said being part of the same cabinet, PAS would have been able to advise prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to become a successful leader.
“Nik Amar’s assumption that a prime minister with money only needed to be financially prudent is far removed from the current realities,” Faiz said on Facebook, as quoted by The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister publication Getaran.
“This is because the government of the day cannot even sustain the subsidies of essential goods and has mooted the reintroduction of the goods and services tax, proving that it is short of funds.
“Is this not a sign of the prime minister’s weakness as a government leader?”
While wrapping the debates at the 68th PAS Muktamar in Kota Sarang Semut, Alor Star yesterday, Nik Amar said PAS’ leadership is confident that the party can win up to 40 parliamentary seats in the upcoming 15th general election compared to the present 18 seats it holds, despite the possibility of not enjoying support from Umno.
Nik Amar also said that the party has the experience and dedicated election machinery to make a difference.
Faiz also panned Nik Amar, who is also Kelantan’s deputy menteri besar, saying money for the government money does not fall from the sky, but needed to be generated from tax revenues once the economy recovers when and when investments increase.
Faiz also said investor confidence would be affected due to poor showings in corruption indexes, thus reducing income for the government.
“The government’s failure to save (funds) due to the bloated size of the current cabinet also affects the government’s revenue,” Faiz said.
Faiz also pointed to the Auditor-General’s report regarding irregularities in the government’s Urban Poverty Eradication Programme.
“This program, worth RM201.94 million, was found to have suffered irregular payments of RM0.75 million and a loss of public money amounting to RM0.62 million,” he said.
Faiz also said the Kelantan government, led by PAS, also relied on the federal government for funds because the state government's revenue was too low.
“So, how is PAS able to become prime minister? If we measure the capabilities of the PAS government at the state level today, it is even sadder.
When Pakatan Harapan led the government, Kelantan was paid RM400 million in oil royalties.
“If it is easy to get money as a government, why is the problem of water supply in Kelantan not solved until now? This protracted problem is happening because the state government does not have the money to upgrade the public infrastructure,” he said.
Faiz said Nik Amar needs to realise that the prime minister’s job is not as easy as Mat Jenin’s wishful thinking.
“The failure of PAS in Kelantan is a yardstick for the people to assess its inability to lead the federal government.
“Although it is not wrong for Nik Amar to have wishful thinking, he should be challenged to name PAS’ candidate for prime minister.” – The Vibes, September 4, 2022
