By Teoh El Sen - Free Malaysia TodayPAS MUKTAMAR KOTA BARU: Deputy PAS president Nasharuddin Mat Isa today challenged deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin to debate on the issue of sports betting.
Picking up on a suggestion made by a delegate yesterday Nasharuddin said: "I hereby challenge the Umno deputy president (Muhyiddin) to come onstage and debate the issue of sports betting to state his party's stand.
"We need to let people know the real concerns of PAS in this issue. We don’t want to leave the people confused,” he said.
He also backed calls by the PAS Supporters Congress (DHPP) for PAS MPs to champion vernacular schools issues.
“We will continue to raise issues that concern the people, irrespective of race. Whether it is religion or vernacular school issues, we will fight for them.” he said.
He reassured delegates that the DHPP’s formation was a collective decision and was supported by the party’s ulamak (scholars) wing.
"We have already explained, our struggle is not for one race. If it is merely for one race then for sure the Arabs will be ruling this party.
“The problem is that our newest wing has worried our enemies so much so they have come up with such statements. Their (Umno) job is to stop this wave.
"No matter, we will go down to the field to explain our stand until we meet them (Umno) again at the battlefield of general election," he said.
Nasharuddin also said the party would revive the council of leaders in all Pakatan Rakyat states and would issue a directive to the effect soon.
“The council is to discuss common issues raised among the Pakatan members,” he said in reference to a complaint by the Penang representative that the state Pakatan councils rarely meet.
2nd DPM post not discussed
Meanwhile PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali said the controversial issue of a second deputy prime minister, as proposed by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim last month, had never been discussed at the Pakatan supreme council meetings.
“The matter (second deputy prime minister) was never raised. All Pakatan policies must be agreed to by the coalition partners including PAS before it is implemented,” he said.
Mustafa also clarified a statement made by Shah Alam representative Khalid Samad yesterday that Malay support for PAS had risen dramatically after the 2008 general election.
“This is not entirely true. We did experience an increase in Malay support after 2008 elections but it was only a slight rise.
“But our acceptance among the non-Malay community after the 2008 election was significant,” he said.
[Additional reporting by Muda Mohd Noor]
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