Nik Aziz calls for EGM to pick new PAS leaders

By Adib Zalkapli - The Malaysian Insider

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 — PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat has urged the party to hold a special muktamar to weed out “problematic leaders” whom he said have made the party look inconsistent.

Nik Aziz’s call suggests that the party has yet to solve its differences on whether to strengthen the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) or to work closer with Umno. He said that the special muktamar should decide on the fate of the party leadership.

“This time, I strongly believe that there is a need to replace the main players occupying the national PAS leadership posts,” said the Kelantan mentri besar.

“You can call it a preparation for the 13th general election,” he added.

At the party muktamar last June, almost all of Nik Aziz’s men were defeated in the party election, most notably Datuk Husam Musa who lost the deputy presidential post.

In his statement dated Oct 21, Nik Aziz said the outcome of the special meeting would help fence-sitters to decide whether to back PAS or not in the coming elections.

“For the sake of ‘tajdid’ (renewal), we have to call for a special muktamar. If the muktamar resolves not to replace the president, for example, then we move on,” he said in the statement which was posted on his blog last night.

He said PAS must take similar steps as taken by Umno and MCA in calling for an EGM to sort out their internal problems. “The issue in MCA was corruption; we do not have to worry about holding an EGM as we are not plagued with corruption. Our problem is with two or three problematic leaders,” said Nik Aziz.

The statement was made to back a similar call by a pro-PAS academician, Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, who blamed the conservatives in the party for causing the embarrassing defeat in the Bagan Pinang by-election.

Abdul Aziz described Selangor PAS chief Datuk Hasan Ali — who attempted to ban the sale of beer and to empower mosque officials to act as moral police — as a liability to PR, urging the party to take disciplinary action against the state executive councillor.

“In the Selangor dispute, Abdul Hadi (PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang) was silent which led to some people in the party equating him with former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,” said Abdul Aziz in his commentary published in Malay tabloid Sinar Harian.

The commentary caused a stir in PAS and Abdul Aziz was criticised by party leaders as not understanding the party’s struggle.