PETALING JAYA: Political analysts have said PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang would continue to attack non-Muslims, whom he blamed for the bulk of corruption cases, just to gain votes of conservative Muslims in the upcoming 15th general election (GE15).
However, they cautioned that such derogatory statements are not healthy for Malaysia as they may undermine unity.
According to University of Tasmania Asia political analyst Prof James Chin, Hadi may not think twice about offending
non-Muslims or non-bumiputras since his party is heavily reliant on Muslim voters.
He said Hadi’s comment can be detrimental to the country, especially when the leader of an Islamic political party plays race and religious games in a multi-racial country like Malaysia.
“I’m not surprised that he made such a statement because this is not the first time he’s blaming the non-Muslims in Malaysia.
“His main idea is for PAS to be the government in order to promote or create a ‘Negara Islam’ (Islamic country).
“So, he doesn’t care about offending non-Muslims in Malaysia because PAS supporters are mainly the conservative Muslim community. If he cannot win the Muslim rural votes, PAS is finished,” he told theSun.
Chin added that PAS has been trying its best to secure public votes in every possible way, including the recent corruption comment against non-Muslims.
“The only agenda is PAS wants to be part of the government. For that, the party needs to win at least 20 MP seats, which is about 10% of the 222 seats in Parliament.
“So, he will say and do whatever he needs to attract Muslim votes because they are just desperate to be the government, since PAS
has not been in power for a long period.”
Echoing his views, Universiti Malaya political analyst Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said Hadi’s racial claim would also affect the Perikatan Nasional (PN) goal of winning GE15, since PAS is under PN and the coalition needs support from non-bumiputra as well.
However, he asserted that Hadi should be made accountable for his comment since it can trigger ethnic and religious strife in the country.
“His (comment) may cause problems to PN because PAS is under PN. This may affect PN’s chances of winning in GE15.
“The PAS president should take full responsibility for what he said by providing evidence to support his (claim),” he said.
