Voters unconvinced with PAS leadership, favours Nik Aziz to Hadi

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani - The Malaysian Insider

Pollsters identified a strong preference for Nik Aziz (left) over Hadi Awang. — Picture by Choo Choy May

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — The majority of voters are not convinced with the current PAS leadership and perceive its leaders as the most dominant problem in the party, a new poll shows.

The poll conducted by Zentrum Future Studies Malaysia from 20 February 2008 to 5 March 2009 showed that 50 per cent of the 2,100 respondents found the main issue to be PAS’ leaders while 27 per cent regarded the party’s ideology as a major stumbling block.

The survey showed that only 31 per cent of respondents were in favour of the current party leadership.

The Zentrum poll also suggests that more Malaysians were in favour of PAS spiritual leader Datuk Niz Aziz Niz Mat compared to party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, with 83 per cent confident in Nik Aziz’s leadership compared to Hadi’s 33 per cent.

The survey showed that one in three respondents identified both Hadi and deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa as the weakness in the party leadership, while four per cent perceive Nik Aziz as the weak link.

The poll also indicates that 44 per cent of those surveyed viewed positively the leadership of PAS’ women’s wing, while the Youth wing and central party leaderships scored 25 and 24 per cent respectively.

Although the party leadership was popular among the age group of 41 to 50 years old, support from those between 21 and 30 was dwindling.

For PAS, getting the young is now a priority for the next general elections but Hadi’s low popularity with younger voters may be an obstacle, with 70 per cent of the 21-30 age group expressing a loss of confidence in the leader and 40 per cent considering him the weakness in the party. The survey also shows that 70 per cent of the age group are unhappy with the top two leaders in the party.

The poll suggests that Malaysians are wary of the hard-line stance that the party projects with the current conservative line-up led by Hadi and Nasharuddin.

The party now seems on course to further distance themselves from voters after 1,000 PAS delegates at a special seminar yesterday concluded that the party must stick to its Islamic line even at the expense of Pakatan Rakyat.

While Nik Aziz has endorsed the pact, many delegates remained suspicious of the role allies DAP and PKR could play in championing the Islamic cause.

They wanted the party to stick to its Islamic line, which has been blurred by Umno’s active Islamic campaigns that have included enacting laws such as caning for alcohol consumption.

The latest poll suggests that for PAS to become a mainstream political party, it needs to reform its hard-line stance to a more accommodating approach or risk not repeating the achievements of 2008 as the party can no longer rely on anti-Umno sentiments to support them.

University Malaya (UM) professor Dr Abu Hassan Hasbullah made that point clear when presenting the report at the seminar yesterday, saying that the trend to support the opposition could change in the next general elections.

“The days of ABU, Anything But Umno, are over,” he said bluntly.