KLANG: Tan Sri Hadi Awang has delivered a blistering critique against Bersatu, accusing the party of opportunism, internal rot and action that undermined efforts to unite the Muslims and preserve the coalition’s dignity.
The PAS president said his party had embarked on a political partnership within the ambit of various Islamic frameworks such as tahaluf, isti‘anah, muwalah and ta‘awun.
“This step went through the right process, unlike the so-called short Sheraton move,” he said on Facebook, adding that certain circles eventually exploited the transition to elevate specific individuals.
According to Hadi, Bersatu strayed from the initial agenda of uniting the Muslim ummah, and it had instead sought power through seat allocation to control a Muslim-majority bloc together with non-Muslim partners.
This was done in spite of the position of Islam in power and the Malay bumiputra as the dominant party, said Hadi.
“Bersatu subsequently tried to weaken PAS’s role in bringing political change by blocking the inclusion of more parties (into the coalition), especially Muslim parties like Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa), Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), Parti Perikatan India Muslim Nasional (Iman) and Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) as well as the MIC," said Hadi.
He also accused Bersatu of being greedy for seat allocations for the polls by providing incorrect information about its membership size and organisational machinery.
“It turned out that when they went to the field, they were not visible,” Hadi said, adding that PAS volunteers became akin to slaves campaigning for Bersatu candidates who lacked qualifications and did not have their own machinery.
Hadi also pointed out the serious internal crisis within Bersatu, triggered by a power struggle that led to dismissals, suspensions and defections.
He added that most of the MPs who were PAS-friendly were either removed, suspended, or fired.
“Some also left the party, and when added up, the number is very large, namely two-thirds of the party members who could affect PN’s strength and bring down its dignity,” said Hadi.
He added Bersatu had also betrayed the PAS-led Perlis government, which resulted in the downfall of the state’s mentri besar.
Hadi said the same happened in Negri Sembilan, where the planned political operations to take over the state were tampered with due to wanting the Prime Minister’s position.
