KUALA LUMPUR: Former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today took a swipe against Pas, saying the Islamic party will be a “spoiler” in the upcoming 14th General Election (GE14).
His criticism today, which is expected to lead to even more Pas leaders refraining from forming any cooperation with Pakatan Harapan, did not come as a surprise as the pact’s presidential council had announced last Tuesday that the they will not be working together with Pas in GE14.
Dr Mahathir had claimed that since its formation decades ago, Pas has not done “anything good for the country.”
“Pas will be the spoiler. Pas has never won enough seats to form a government at the federal level. Maybe it can win in Kelantan or Terengganu or maybe even Kedah.
“But apart from diluting the strength of the people in rural areas, Pas is not doing anything good for the country,” he said.
Dr Mahathir, who was the country's longest-serving prime minister, also accused Pas of “successfully” dividing the Malays.
“As a Muslim, I find that Pas has made interpretations of Islam that is against the teachings of Islam, but has succeeded in dividing Malay Muslims into two separate entities…and this is not advocated by the teachings of Islam,” he said during the “Insight Talk, Saving Malaysia: Friends and Foes.”
The discussion, which also featured DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang as a panelist, was moderated by Jahabar Sadiq who runs news portal The Malaysian Insight.
Dr Mahathir and Lim had been known to be enemies for decades but began working together last year.
Commenting further on Pas, Dr Mahathir, who is also Pakatan Harapan chairman, said certain quarters became fanatical towards Islamic leaders instead of the Islamic teachings itself.
“Because we see in the history of religions, people tend to cling to their leaders more than the teachings of the religion. Religion tends of bring people together, but teachers tend to break it up because of personal reasons.
“And here in Malaysia, this is what has happened. Because Pas….they have managed to divide the Muslims of Malaysia, the Malays, who belonged in the same sect…all followers of Imam Syafie.
“Before Pas, there was no break between the Malays. They were all one, belonging to the same Sunni sect,” he added.
Lim, on the other hand, was of the opinion that Pas, under the leadership of Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has now changed, compared to the Pas under the leadership of his predecessors.
“We should reach out to Umno and Pas members, to bring about change to the country. Pas under Hadi is definitely very different from Pas under (former Pas leader Datuk) Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat or before that as it was more inclusive in approach and more tolerant,” Lim said.