ALOR SETAR: Top scorers failing to get into the university of their choice and how PAS plans to win more seats and capture more states in the 16th General Election dominated the debates on the first day of its 71st muktamar (national assembly).
PAS youth delegate representative Azamuddin Sahar urged PAS to redouble its efforts to reach out to voters beyond its traditional base.
“Statistics from the last general election revealed that more than half of young voters cast their ballots in favour of Perikatan Nasional.
“Within PAS itself, only 40% of those who voted for the party were members, while the remaining 60% came from outside its ranks.
“In other words, out of every 10 people who supported us in GE15, only four were party members, while six were non-members,” added Azamuddin.
Echoing this point, Pahang delegate Mohamad Ayub Mat Ashri said that the party, along with its Perikatan Nasional allies, is focused on securing control of Pahang in the 16th General Election.
The Perikatan parties currently hold 17 out of the 42 seats in the Pahang assembly, falling short by five seats necessary to establish a majority and assume control of the state.
“We will hold a gathering on Oct 19 at Sungai Koyan in the Pahang Mentri Besar’s own constituency to launch our campaign to make Pahang the G5 state.”
Currently, the four Perikatan Nasional-led state governments are known as the SG4, namely Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis and Kedah.
A Kedah delegate, Dr Haim Hilman Abdullah, said Malaysia is currently facing an “education crisis” as many of its top students are being denied spots at the nation’s top public universities.
“Out of some 180,000 spots, it is estimated that some 39,000, or 21%, of them are given to foreign students,” said the Jitra assemblyman.
“We are not anti-foreigner, but our local students should be prioritised.”
Haim Hilman cited the case of the top STPM scorer Edward Wong Yi Xian, who was not given a place in Universiti Malaya’s accountancy programme despite scoring a CGPA of 4.0, straight A’s and 9.9 out of 10 for co-curricular activities.
On the same topic, Sabah PAS delegate Sahar Abdul Majid called for a swift and transparent probe for the late Zara Qairina Mahathir, whose lethal fall from her hostel in Sabah sparked rallies against the scourge of bullying.
“At the tender age of 13, she left us. We want justice, and Sabah PAS is standing up to get justice for her,” he said to thunderous applause from the floor, where some members held up “Justice for Zara Qairina” placards.
