Hadi ends once-and-for-all talks of Umno-PAS tie

By Muda Mohd Noor and Teoh El Sen - Free Malaysia Today

PAS MUKTAMAR KOTA BARU: PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang today reiterated that the Islamist party will not join forces with bitter rival Umno and at the same time warned disgruntled members against causing trouble.
“You are either with PAS or not. There are no two ways about this. Join the PAS ark but don’t complain that our sail is too slow for you.

“We are on track to Putrajaya. God willing we will wrest Putrajaya. We have begun our leadership journey to Putrajaya. This is our legitimate dream,” he told delegates in a  hard-hitting summation of the PAS 56th muktamar this evening.

Hadi then went on to rubbish claims of dispute within the party, saying that all that was happening was ‘a rearrangement of chairs and tables’.

He also stressed that there would be no unity talk or unity government with Umno, a point which he touched during his closing remarks and again at a press conference at the end of the muktamar.

“There will be no more talks on unity (with Umno). We will only champion unity in Islam because we are strong and safe and there is no need for cooperation with Umno.

“We reject altogether any cooperation with Umno because any talks or attempts to foster ties with Umno would be a lie,” he said.

He said Umno had betrayed the Malays and it was now PAS' responsibility to empower the community.

“Even the veteran leaders in Umno have admitted that the party is self-destructive and has no future. There is no reason for us to carry a terminally ill person (organisation),” he said.

Hadi said another reason PAS had rejected a liaison with Umno was because of its narrow racial perspectives.

“It would be difficult for us to engage in any discussions, because BN is too saturated with racial politics and corrupt practices.

“PAS has a different relationship with the non-Muslims. The formation of the DHPP (PAS Supporters Congress) was based on Islamic principles and different from the Umno’s cooperation with the its non-Muslim partners. Umno has compromised its principles,” he said.

A good muktamar, says president
Adding on, he said Umno and BN had now lost their two key pillars – the Chinese and Indian support.

“The two pillars which Umno leaned on have crumbled. Only the Malays are still supporting Umno. Umno is championing Malay rights using Islam. It is not defending the religion,” he said, adding that “it was not wrong to love your race,  but not to the point that race becomes more important that faith.”

“We have closed our doors on Umno,” he said.

Hadi said PAS members had a huge job ahead because they had to work hard to free the minds of the Malays who have been indoctrinated with Umno’s seeds of racism.

On the four-day muktamar proceedings Hadi told newsmen that he was satisfied with the process and the quality of the debates.

“The delegates were ready to discuss the issues raised and accepted the explanations. I was impressed with the quality and maturity of the debates and debaters.

“But more importantly this congress was good because there was a strong feeling of comradeship and brotherhood,” he said.