Mat Sabu: PAS left DAP not because of hudud, but to form govt with Umno

August 29, 2023

Mat Sabu: PAS left DAP not because of hudud, but to form govt with Umno

MUAR, Aug 29 — Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu has denied PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang’s claim that the Islamist party severed its political ties with DAP due to the latter’s rejection of the controversial hudud laws.

The former PAS deputy president alleged that the real reason for the move was due to the party’s plan to ally itself instead with then-enemy Umno in order to form the ruling coalition, saying the matter was decided during its muktamar, or annual congress in 2013.

“After a long discussion, it was announced that PAS had severed its ties with DAP. There was no issue of agreeing or disagreeing with hudud laws as the matter had been agreed upon in prior talks with DAP and PKR at the PAS office in Kuala Lumpur on September 29, 2011,” said Mohamad during his speech at Taman Sri Kaseh here last night which was also streamed live.

The politician called Mat Sabu made the exposé after Abdul Hadi alleged that several PAS leaders who quit the party to form Parti Amanah Negara did so because they were afraid of losing in party elections.

On Monday, it was reported that Mohamad promised to rebut the “lies” by Abdul Hadi during the Simpang Jeram by-election campaigning.

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Mohamad, now Amanah president, led several PAS leaders deemed as progressive — dubbed the “Erdogan faction” after Turkiye’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan — to leave the Islamist party in 2015.

Mohamad recalled that during the 2011 meeting with PKR and DAP, Abdul Hadi was present along with Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad who was then the director of PAS Research Centre.

He added that DAP was represented by Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, the late Karpal Singh and Anthony Loke. For PKR, those present were Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution and several others.

Mohamad said that through the discussions, all parties reached an agreement on several matters such as opposing the Internal Security Act, implementing good governance, fighting corruption and upholding the Federal Constitution.

However, they have all agreed not to pursue the Islamic penal code of hudud,

“PAS not only agreed with the decision regarding the hudud law issue, but even in 2008 the party was willing to forget its struggle for an Islamic state and wanted to replace it with a welfare state,” he said, adding it was done so to unite the opposition parties ahead of the 12th general election in 2008.

Mohamad then accused Abdul Hadi of lying about PAS’ struggle to implement hudud, saying the party had ignored the matter when it was part of the Perikatan Nasional administration but have dug it back up now that it is in the opposition.