I was shocked to read a misleading report by The Star today entitled “Zairil’s apology attempt to Hadi goes awry,” in which the newspaper quotes me as apologising to Pas President Dato’ Seri Abdul Hadi Awang following a protest made by Federal Territory Pas Commissioner Muhamad Noor Muhamad against a statement I issued on Sunday.
In my original statement, I stated that there would be no future for Pakatan Rakyat if Hadi continues to lead Pas. This hypothesis was made based on the many acts of betrayal that have been undertaken by the Islamist party in recent times, including going against the collective decision to nominate Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the sole Selangor Menteri Besar candidate, the failure to discuss the details of the hudud enactment in Kelantan before it was tabled, and Hadi’s personal submission of a private member’s bill on hudud in Parliament.
On top of the above, my statement pointed out that there were seven three-cornered fights (six state seats and one parliamentary seat) involving Pas and PKR in the last General Election, and that this had occurred under Hadi’s leadership.
In the protest letter handed over to me by Federal Territory Pas yesterday, it was clarified that the Labuan candidate had contested using an authorisation letter signed by Pas Secretary-General Dato’ Mustafa Ali, and not Hadi.
While I am prepared to admit that the Labuan candidate’s authorisation letter may have not been signed by Hadi, that does not change the fact that Hadi allowed seven three-cornered fights to take place involving Pas candidates against PKR candidates. In the end, Barisan Nasional won all seven seats.
I also never apologised to Hadi, and I stand by my original statement that Hadi’s leadership has seen many acts of betrayal that threaten to derail not only the Pakatan Rakyat coalition but also the hopes and aspirations of the 52 per cent of Malaysians who voted for change in the last General Election.