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SHAH ALAM – Pas’ stance on Confidence and Supply Agreements (CSA) while it was part of the government in 2021 has come under scrutiny after its president, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, likened the mechanism to the approach of Dajjal.
Political Secretary to the Finance Minister, Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim, said Pas had previously accepted a political understanding containing elements of a CSA when it was part of the government led by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
He said the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Transformation and Political Stability, signed between the government at the time and Pakatan Harapan (PH) on Sept 13, 2021, also contained elements of a CSA to ensure government stability and the passage of the Budget.
“When Pas was part of the government, such an understanding was considered necessary for the sake of national stability. Yet, the term Dajjal was never used.
“But when Pas is outside the government, a similar political mechanism is suddenly associated with Dajjal,” he said in a Facebook post on Tuesday.
Kamil questioned whether this represented a new approach in Pas’ political playbook or whether the party was applying different standards depending on its position in the government.
He also questioned whether the approach came with special exemptions for the party’s political allies.
“Is this a new method in Pas politics? Is it halal for us but haram for you? Or does this political ruling come with special exemptions for its allies?” he said.
He said differences of opinion over CSA could be discussed, including questions surrounding its conditions and implementation.
However, he stressed that religious terminology should not be used to condemn a political mechanism that Pas itself had previously accepted while in government.
“We can disagree over CSA and even question its conditions and implementation. But religious terms should not be used to condemn something that was previously accepted when Pas was in government,” he said.
Kamil added that a change in political position should not result in political principles changing according to circumstances.
He reminded that religion teaches people to uphold justice and remain principled, rather than apply different standards depending on who holds power.
“What has changed is the political position. We should not allow the yardstick of what is halal and haram to change according to where one sits in Parliament.
“Religion teaches us to be just and uphold principles, not to apply two different standards depending on who is in power,” he said.
