PETALING JAYA: Thank you, but no thank you, PAS tells Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang over his advice for the party to replace its president.
PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan said that the DAP veteran would be better off offering similar advice to its own unity government counterpart Umno, rather than advising PAS.
In a statement Tuesday (Dec 5), Takiyuddin said the suggestion by Lim for Terengganu MB Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar to replace PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang so that the party can be “more open and moderate” has no merit.
He was responding to Lim’s statement on Monday (Dec 4) that newly-elected Kemaman MP Ahmad Samsuri should replace Abdul Hadi as the former had won a big majority in last Saturday’s (Dec 2) by-election and is an aeronautical engineer who can steer the party to be more moderate and open.
“I thank Lim for his congratulatory message to PAS for winning the Kemaman by-election. However, the issue raised by Lim that Ahmad Samsuri should replace Abdul Hadi seems to be off tangent and has no merit at all.
“Firstly, PAS has no problems with Abdul Hadi's leadership. As a matter of fact, Abdul Hadi was never challenged in his post in the party polls, except for once, and he won.
“PAS is now the party with the most MPs, controls four states under Perikatan Nasional and has elected representatives in all the state assemblies of the Peninsula.
“Secondly, Lim is not the most qualified person to preach moderation and openness when his own party still has much racist and chauvinist rhetoric.
“If at all Lim wants to raise the issue of change of leadership, it would be better to advise DAP’s government counterpart Umno, which seems to have lost support even from its own members.
“It would be better for Lim to focus on the internal problems of Pakatan and Barisan as well as the loss of support fpr Putrajaya, than play hyperbolic, hypercritical and speculative politics that does not help a democratic country,” said Takiyuddin.
