Subdued mood at PAS meet

Subdued mood at PAS meet

ANALYSIS By JOCELINE TAN
joceline@thestar.com.my

 
 

The PAS gathering in Kedah was to signal to the rank-and-file that it is on the way to Putrajaya but the mood was not that of a party on the way to big time political power.

THE mood at the PAS gathering in Kedah was rather too subdued for a gathering aimed at telling members that the party is on the way to Putrajaya.

This despite the political content of the speech by their president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang. While none of those at the gathering would admit that they could not capture Putrajaya, most of them smiled sheepishly and shrugged their shoulders when asked about it.

Very hard, was all that one PAS assemblyman from Kedah would say.

The Malay ground has shifted and PAS more than any other party in Pakatan Rakyat can sense it. But admission of defeat is not in the PAS vocabulary and the gathering, themed Green Rally to Putrajaya, was being held in lieu of the annual muktamar that had been postponed in anticipation of the general election.

This is the first time the party has ever postponed its muktamar because of the elections.

The PAS leadership is concerned that delegates may raise controversial issues. Some party leaders are also upset at the involvement of the party's Unit Amal in breaching the barricades around Dataran Merdeka during the Bersih protest.

The volunteer corp is famous as a disciplined and professional body that handles crowd control at party events. But videos of the maroon-shirted personnel charging through the barricades during the Bersih rally have shocked the more conservative members of PAS. They want to know what went wrong.

It is obvious party leaders prefer to sweep these matters under the carpet till after the polls.

Hadi is better at religious speeches, but his presidential address yesterday was a wholly political speech urging the delegates to be ready for the most critical general election in the party's history.    

The party today is quite different from what it was when he took over from the beloved and late Datuk Fadzil Mohd Noor, whose memory still brings out the emotions among many in the party.

He was a first class politician and a lovely man.

Fadzil would have known what to do and how to put the likes of Lim Guan Eng and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in their place without them even realising it.

In contrast, Hadi seems bewildered by the things happening around him. He looked tired.

He has changed his mind about retiring and has been persuaded to contest both a parliament and state seat in the general election, but he was unable to inject energy and excitement into the hall.

In fact, the sighting of former Umno minister Tan Sri Kadir Sheikh Fadzir caused much more of a stir.

He had wanted to come earlier and join the muktamar but PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali had told him to come later and he arrived just in time for lunch.

Kadir seems very comfortable in the PAS crowd but the PAS people do not seem too comfortable about him. The feedback from the party about Kadir has not been very positive, hence he has set up his own party.

Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak was his usual insouciant self when asked why PAS did not recruit Kadir: "He has his own party, we have ours."

When reporters pointed out that Kadir should join PAS because even the iced drink he had during lunch was green, he shot back: "But his baju(Melayu) is still blue."

The gathering was also to shore up their hold over Kedah. PAS is fighting a resurgent Umno in Kedah and a failed coup against Azizan by two of his state exco members has affected morale.

Everyone was given a report card of Azizan's administration and the difference between his government and that of the Barisan Nasional.

The party is also trying to make overtures to the non-Muslim voters and has offered its PAS Supporters Congress a state seat in the coming polls.

As a result, Congress chairman Hu Pang Chow, who had been increasingly critical of the party, has changed his tune and sang praises of the party at the gathering.

It is amazing what an offer of candidature can do and Hu went overboard in defending PAS against Umno and hudud law critic Karpal Singh.

The evening ceramah featuring the top guns drew a huge crowd and helped assuage the party's anxieties.

The local folk respect the top ulama, possibly more for their religious knowledge than political leadership.

The rivalry between PAS and Umno has extended to who can attract more Malay artistes to add glamour to the party.

PAS advertised its latest catch which included former pop singer Aishah. She can still sing but has ballooned into a big, matronly lady.

The party's muktamar in recent years have showcased how far the party has come from its humble origins in the "sekolah pondok" and kampung.

The muktamar a few years ago trumpeted plans to build a new headquarters near Putrajaya and last year's event was held at its newly renovated complex in Taman Melewar.

There is no denying that many of the delegates felt somewhat let down by the modest scale of this year's gathering.

The party would have done better if it went ahead with a grand muktamar to signal that it is seriously rattling the gates of Putrajaya.

 
 

 
 

 
 

 
 

Subdued mood at PAS meet

ANALYSIS By JOCELINE TAN
joceline@thestar.com.my

 
 

The PAS gathering in Kedah was to signal to the rank-and-file that it is on the way to Putrajaya but the mood was not that of a party on the way to big time political power.

THE mood at the PAS gathering in Kedah was rather too subdued for a gathering aimed at telling members that the party is on the way to Putrajaya.

This despite the political content of the speech by their president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang. While none of those at the gathering would admit that they could not capture Putrajaya, most of them smiled sheepishly and shrugged their shoulders when asked about it.

Very hard, was all that one PAS assemblyman from Kedah would say.

The Malay ground has shifted and PAS more than any other party in Pakatan Rakyat can sense it. But admission of defeat is not in the PAS vocabulary and the gathering, themed Green Rally to Putrajaya, was being held in lieu of the annual muktamar that had been postponed in anticipation of the general election.

This is the first time the party has ever postponed its muktamar because of the elections.

The PAS leadership is concerned that delegates may raise controversial issues. Some party leaders are also upset at the involvement of the party's Unit Amal in breaching the barricades around Dataran Merdeka during the Bersih protest.

The volunteer corp is famous as a disciplined and professional body that handles crowd control at party events. But videos of the maroon-shirted personnel charging through the barricades during the Bersih rally have shocked the more conservative members of PAS. They want to know what went wrong.

It is obvious party leaders prefer to sweep these matters under the carpet till after the polls.

Hadi is better at religious speeches, but his presidential address yesterday was a wholly political speech urging the delegates to be ready for the most critical general election in the party's history.

The party today is quite different from what it was when he took over from the beloved and late Datuk Fadzil Mohd Noor, whose memory still brings out the emotions among many in the party.

He was a first class politician and a lovely man.

Fadzil would have known what to do and how to put the likes of Lim Guan Eng and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in their place without them even realising it.

In contrast, Hadi seems bewildered by the things happening around him. He looked tired.

He has changed his mind about retiring and has been persuaded to contest both a parliament and state seat in the general election, but he was unable to inject energy and excitement into the hall.

In fact, the sighting of former Umno minister Tan Sri Kadir Sheikh Fadzir caused much more of a stir.

He had wanted to come earlier and join the muktamar but PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali had told him to come later and he arrived just in time for lunch.

Kadir seems very comfortable in the PAS crowd but the PAS people do not seem too comfortable about him. The feedback from the party about Kadir has not been very positive, hence he has set up his own party.

Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak was his usual insouciant self when asked why PAS did not recruit Kadir: "He has his own party, we have ours."

When reporters pointed out that Kadir should join PAS because even the iced drink he had during lunch was green, he shot back: "But his baju(Melayu) is still blue."

The gathering was also to shore up their hold over Kedah. PAS is fighting a resurgent Umno in Kedah and a failed coup against Azizan by two of his state exco members has affected morale.

Everyone was given a report card of Azizan's administration and the difference between his government and that of the Barisan Nasional.

The party is also trying to make overtures to the non-Muslim voters and has offered its PAS Supporters Congress a state seat in the coming polls.

As a result, Congress chairman Hu Pang Chow, who had been increasingly critical of the party, has changed his tune and sang praises of the party at the gathering.

It is amazing what an offer of candidature can do and Hu went overboard in defending PAS against Umno and hudud law critic Karpal Singh.

The evening ceramah featuring the top guns drew a huge crowd and helped assuage the party's anxieties.

The local folk respect the top ulama, possibly more for their religious knowledge than political leadership.

The rivalry between PAS and Umno has extended to who can attract more Malay artistes to add glamour to the party.

PAS advertised its latest catch which included former pop singer Aishah. She can still sing but has ballooned into a big, matronly lady.

The party's muktamar in recent years have showcased how far the party has come from its humble origins in the "sekolah pondok" and kampung.

The muktamar a few years ago trumpeted plans to build a new headquarters near Putrajaya and last year's event was held at its newly renovated complex in Taman Melewar.

There is no denying that many of the delegates felt somewhat let down by the modest scale of this year's gathering.

The party would have done better if it went ahead with a grand muktamar to signal that it is seriously rattling the gates of Putrajaya.