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Saturday, August 8, 2015

PAS grassroots adopt ‘wait and see’ approach to new splinter party

A group of 18 PAS leaders defeated in the recent PAS polls at the Jasamu Dikenang gathering held in Muar, Johor on June 16. They have embarked on a more inclusive Islamist movement called Gerakan Harapan Baru. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, August 8, 2015.A group of 18 PAS leaders defeated in the recent PAS polls at the Jasamu Dikenang gathering held in Muar, Johor on June 16. They have embarked on a more inclusive Islamist movement called Gerakan Harapan Baru. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, August 8, 2015.As moves to form a PAS splinter party gather steam, more than 50% of ordinary grassroots members, especially at the branch level, are adopting a "wait and see" approach.
They are waiting to see the new party’s official form, its constitution and its leadership, who are expected to be from the New Hope Movement (GHB), before deciding whether to make the big jump and leave PAS.
However, many of its senior campaigners and activists in its volunteer corps the Unit Amal, have already decided to leave PAS and join the GHB-driven party.
The same is also happening among the national-level officers of the PAS-run kindergartens all over the country, which are called Pasti.
Former Pasti director Azrin Majid has left PAS to become the Jasin GHB coordinator in Malacca and has set up the party’s new education unit.
Support towards the new party is also strong among PAS leaders in Johor, Malacca and Negri Sembilan, where many have openly joined the GHB to lay the ground work for the new party.
Wait and see
GHB, which was formed in June by 18 of PAS’s most well known parliamentarians and personalities, is expected to announce the formation of a new Islamist party next month. The GHB founders mainly comprise those who had lost their leadership positions in the PAS elections in early June.
The new party is expected to join up with DAP and PKR to form a new opposition coalition after the seven-year old Pakatan Rakyat officially ceased functioning in June.
Many of the new party’s members are expected to be from PAS.
In Selayang, Selangor for example, many of the ordinary members are reluctant to openly state their stand on the new party, said the division’s former chief Mohamad Abdul Rahman.
Mohamad said, at present, he knows of 10 branch leaders under him who will likely join the GHB.
“Many of the others are acting like tortoises. Their heads peek out from under their shells and then they retract them again. So we can’t reveal who they are yet,” said Mohamad, who is now the Selangor GHB treasurer.
Most of the members under him are waiting for the new party to be formed and announced, before deciding.
As an example of how ambivalent members are about the GHB, in one Selayang branch, only five out of 20 committee members are likely to join the GHB.
Five others will stay with PAS, while the remaining 10 are unsure.
In Kelantan, which is currently ruled by a PAS government, support for the GHB is strong but many members are reluctant to openly declare it.
In the Kepala Jambatan branch for instance, seven out of 14 committee members together with its chief are joining the GHB, said its chief Che Ibrahim Mohamad.
“Six are waiting and watching, while only one is likely to remain with PAS because he has a state government post, said Che Ibrahim, who is Kelantan GHB deputy coordinator.
Strong southern support
Support for the GHB and a new opposition pact is gathering steam as PAS leaders appear to be split on how to deal with Umno, its traditional nemesis.
As opposition parties PKR and DAP pressure Najib on the RM2.6 billion he received in his personal accounts, PAS’s top leaders such as Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang appear to be silent on the scandal.
The only leader from the new leadership who has consistently criticised Najib is Hadi’s deputy Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.
In the Southern part of the peninsula, where PAS has historically struggled to gain a footing, support for the GHB is huge and many of its state leaders have said they will join the new party.
For instance, all three of Negri Sembilan’s state chiefs, who have had problems working together in the past, have all joined the GHB.
Former Negri Sembilan chiefs, Taufek Abdul Ghani and MK Ibrahim, have joined the state’s GHB coordinator Zukifli Mohd Omar.
In Johor and Malacca, former state chiefs, Aminul Huda Hassan and Adly Zahari, have joined the GHB.
Almost all leaders and committee members of six branches in the Merlimau constituency have joined Jasin GHB, which is led by Yuhaizad Abdullah.
But in the Kampung Kelubi branch in the Rim constituency, half of its committee members are joining GHB and the rest staying with PAS, said the branch’s number two Azrin Majid.
- TMI

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