Conciliatory instead of combative mood on first day of PAS assembly

PAS delegates at the 60th PAS muktamar in Parit Raja, Johor. Delagates have taken on a conciliatory tone at the Islamist party's annual general meeting. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, September 19, 2014.

For all the media hype about PAS’s imminent break-up, there was very little in the way of grandstanding and finger-pointing among the grassroots at the first day of the Islamist party's annual general meeting yesterday.

Instead, delegates appeared to take the queue from their president – the man that’s being blamed for the rift in PAS – to call for reconciliation and forgiveness.

Observers say it points to a growing maturity in the country’s oldest opposition party and how it manages divergent views among members and leaders.

For to borrow an idea from a Perak delegate, if PAS manages to come out of this muktamar with all its undercurrents of conflict intact, it just might learn a thing or two about managing complex societies like Malaysia.

The first signal that one of its factions wanted to make up came early in the day as Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang did not pounce on his detractors in his policy speech.

He also only made a fleeting reference to the on-going feud between him, the party’s ulama (Muslim scholars) and the office bearers in the central executive committee (CEC).

Instead Hadi made a vague reference to “outside forces who wanted to divide the party”.

“He wanted to calm the tempers,” said CEC member Dr Idris Ahmad on the tone of Hadi’s speech.

Ever since the Selangor Menteri Besar impasse, Hadi has been attacked by leaders within PAS and its allies in PKR and DAP.

Many blame him for ruining public trust in PAS due to his inconsistent decisions throughout the crisis which was started when Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim was expelled from PKR.

Yet there was little rancour in his speech yesterday. Neither did he want to debate his decisions with his critics.

If he had done so, said a Kelantan PAS leader, it would have inflamed feelings in the assembly.

“He is like a father who wants to keep his children from fighting,” said the Kelantan leader.

This tone continued in the debates on the annual report and the motion to support the president’s speeh.

For instance, Kuala Krai delegate Zulkifli Yaacob took to the podium to call for greater respect of the party’s ulama, who ensure that PAS stays true to its Islamist aims.

Yet at the same time, he also castigated the youth wing members who walked out on the speech by party deputy president Mohamad Sabu on September 16.

“Don’t walk out on him even if you disagree with him,” said Zulkifli.

Mohamad, or Mat Sabu, is the face of the faction that is at odds with Hadi and the Syura council.

The defence of both the ulama and the CEC at the same time was an oft-repeated theme in the debates.

One Malacca delegate spoke of how ulama should be fielded as a candidate in elections.

At the same time, he asked that the ulama stop using terms considered derogatory for PAS such as munafiq (hypocrite).

“Don’t view the CEC through narrow-minded lens,” said the delegate from Malacca.

This wish of wanting PAS’s rival groups to close ranks was repeated again in speeches by delegates from Perak and Selangor.

According to Idris, the CEC member, delegates may be critical and open of the rifts in the party but they are not taking sides and turning the assembly into an arena for one group to defeat the other.

“We want the leadership to develop a mechanism for us to deal with crises and differences of opinion,” said Perak delegate Noh Ahmad.

“Differences of opinion are not necessarily weaknesses. Handled correctly, they can be strengths,” said Noh to loud cheers from the floor.

- TMI