Selangor councillor Ronnie Liu was attacked by PAS commissioner Hassan Ali for “interfering” with an unauthorised MBSA beer raid. — Picture by Choo Choy May
Insiders in both parties think Selangor PAS commissioner Datuk Hassan Ali has played into the hands of Umno, which will reap the benefits of the wedge between the Islamic party and secular DAP, ahead of the Permatang Pasir by-election in Penang.
Hassan has called for DAP’s Ronnie Liu to be stripped of his local government portfolio for “interfering” in beer seizures from a 7-Eleven outlet by enforcement officers in Shah Alam on July 29.
The by-election in Permatang Pasir had been called following the death of Mohd Hamdan Abdul Rahman, 60, from a heart attack on July 31.
The assemblyman was PAS’ only state lawmaker in Penang and the Islamic party has the most to lose if the on-going dispute in Selangor is not contained.
If Malay voters continue to be split down the middle as they were in Manek Urai, the outcome of Permatang Pasir will be decided by the constituency’s 25 per cent Chinese and 1 per cent Indian voters.
Penang PAS deputy commissioner Dr Mujahid Yusuf Rawa said the lessons from Manek Urai, where the party scraped by with a 65-vote majority, had been learnt.
Although he maintains that Permatang Pasir is not Manek Urai, he concedes that retaining Mohd Hamdan’s 5,433 votes garnered in last year’s general elections will be an uphill task.
Mujahid said Selangor’s PAS/DAP fiasco and recent remarks by DAP’s Jeff Ooi — who labelled Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) as an extremist Islamic organisation — are not helping the situation.
“Umno is bound to use these issues against us during the by-election and it’s important for these issues to be resolved before then,” he said.
Meanwhile in Selangor, Pakatan Rakyat (PR) leaders including those from PAS are either stumped or incensed by Hassan Ali’s conduct.
During a press conference on Tuesday, the PAS executive councillor (exco) lashed out at Liu for interfering in the work of enforcement officers from the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA), which seized beer from a 7-Eleven outlet located near a surau in Section 8.
A decision was made to return the beer the next day on July 30 because the seizure was illegal. MBSA mayor Mazalan Md Noor has clarified that there are no by-laws which allow enforcement officers to make the seizure. He added the beer can only be seized if sold openly to Muslims or minors.
However, Hassan Ali who claimed to represent Selangor PAS said the party supported the seizure.
A PAS leader told The Malaysian Insider that Hassan Ali was either naïve for playing into the hands of Umno or working with them to topple the PR state government.
Another Pakatan member of parliament pointed out that Hassan Ali could have raised the issue at the weekly state exco meeting but instead chose to raise it with the press.
“I am not sure what he is up to but I doubt the issue is merely about the sale of beer.”
DAP’s Tony Pua said: “We are completely stumped on the unwarranted open attack on Liu who was doing his job.
“We’re certain he is not politically naïve and we wish to find out what is his motive.”
The Petaling Jaya MP added that Hasaan Ali may just end up jeopardising PAS’s chance in Permatang Pasir if he continues down the same path.
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