PETALING JAYA: The push for Malay-Muslim unity and political cooperation may require PAS to make difficult compromises over seat allocations during the upcoming 16th General Election, warned Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (pic).
The party deputy president said the party's leadership stressed that its unanimous endorsement of the penyatuan ummah (Muslim Malay unity) resolution must translate into action, particularly when negotiations begin over seats with potential political partners.
He added that while PAS would defend constituencies it had already won, it must be prepared to take a broader view of seat negotiations and make concessions where necessary to strengthen the larger political bloc.
“There must be tolerance and give-and-take to balance our respective strengths,” he said in his winding-up speech at the 72nd PAS Muktamar, which was broadcast live on Facebook, on Saturday (Sept 5).
Earlier, the delegates at the 72nd PAS Muktamar approved several motions including strengthening Muslim unity to bolster Malay-Islamic politics and calling for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) into alleged “corporate mafia” activities.
Tuan Ibrahim also said the biggest test would come when constituencies were asked to accept decisions made by the party leadership in the interests of wider political cooperation.
“It is not enough to simply approve a resolution unanimously. It must be translated into action, specifically through obedience to the party’s decisions,” he said.
PAS, he added, will establish committees to drive the Muslim unity resolution and handle seat negotiations. The latter committee will be tasked with looking beyond individual constituencies and states to determine the party's broader electoral strategy.
He also cited the recent Negri Sembilan state polls as an example of how such compromises could work, saying seats already won by a party were retained while other constituencies were divided according to the respective parties' strengths.
Tuan Ibrahim said this approach ultimately enabled the coalition to win together and form the state government with Barisan Nasional.
