KOTA BAHRU: PAS spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat wants an end to speculations about whether the party would be enticed to join the proposed 'national unity' government with rivals Umno.
He said PAS' future is with Pakatan Rakyat and it is vital to forge a deeper understanding and commitment to the alliance which comprises of PKR, DAP and the powerful Islamist party.
Delivering his keynote address at the annual joint opening of the PAS Youth, Muslimat and Ulama assemblies, Nik Aziz said the mood of the people is with the alliance now.
"I hope to see a progressive pace in place where the emphasis is on good governance so as to capture the minds of the people ahead of the roadmap to Putrajaya," he said.
The proposed national unity government was first mooted by Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh
Hamzah, weeks after the landmark 2008 general election.
He said a unity government was the solution to address the political stalemate in the country since the emergence of Pakatan as an alternative to the Barisan Nasional coalition.
Nik Aziz, however, said PAS must build on the present favourable sentiment and momentum in Pakatan to capture all seats it will be contesting in the next general election.
"We must become the voice of the Malay electorate. We can then form a good government based on the aspirations of the people," said the 79-year-old cleric.
Islam not exclusive to Malays
Touching on the elevation of the PAS non-Muslims supporters club into an assembly (Dewan) status last month, Nik Abdul Aziz said Islam does not solely belong to PAS.
"In the past, clerics failed to generate awareness about Islam to the non-Muslims, thus resulting in the religion being exclusive to the Malays only," he said.
"This must change and with a non-Muslim wing, PAS can empower them to spread the goodwill message of the party's struggle to their respective communities."
Nik Aziz also urged clerics to master other languages such as Mandarin and Tamil to reach out to the non-Muslims.
Later, PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali said the upcoming main 'muktamar' (assembly) will focus on the party consolidation.
Perhaps, this might be the last 'muktamar' before the general election as Mustafa boldly predicted that election will be called by March next year.
Therefore, the party must step up a gear in preparing for it, he said, adding that this 'muktamar' is a proper platform to kick-off earnest preparations
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