PAS President Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang made the most bizarre comment when he urged non-Malays in the country to not be fooled by DAP’s ‘false narratives’. Instead of continuing to play on racial politics, I would like to call on Hadi to answer me if PAS was also swayed by the so-called ‘false narratives’, in fact, not once but twice when it collaborated with DAP.
In 1999, Barisan Alternatif – comprising PKR, DAP and PAS – was formed as an opposition front against the then ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. We had a good working relationship with Tok Guru Tan Sri Nik Aziz Nik Mat who was PAS spiritual advisor. The coalition lasted only two years and was split in 2001, with both PAS and PKR going their own way in states where PAS had a majority. This clearly shows that PAS was riding on other political parties to win the elections.
Later, when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Reformasi movement was at its height, PAS again became part of the Pakatan Rakyat coalition which was formed in 2008. DAP had been most accommodating towards PAS and accepting it as a partner. Those were the moments we enjoyed good working relationships with PAS members because we do not see Malays as a threat. However, the moment the Tok Guru passed on, and Hadi took over as PAS President, the relationship soured again. Once again it was PAS which ditched Pakatan Rakyat, leading to the dissolution of the coalition in 2015.
Let me remind Hadi that PAS was part of Barisan Nasional in 1972 as a junior to UMNO. This partnership had helped to boost PAS’s win of 14 parliamentary seats in the 1974 General Election. History tells us that PAS ditched UMNO and Barisan Nasional in 1977. The following year (1978 general election), PAS was reduced to only five parliamentary seats. It even lost the state of Kelantan for the next 12 years until 1990. It was abandoned by its Malay electoral base until the 1999 general election at the height of Anwar’s Reformasi movement.
Again, in 2022, PAS benefited from Malay voters who abandoned UMNO in the last general election, given the impression that there was a ‘green wave.’
Now, with the Madani government making inroads into Kelantan, Kedah and Terengganu to solve people’s problems, Hadi has to think twice about playing on racial politics.
Hadi should give us an honest answer because history seems to tell us that PAS is the one riding on other political parties to achieve its own political agenda and he should also answer us whether PAS was also swayed by the so-called ‘false narratives’ during those two occasions when it collaborated with DAP.