A Battle For Power And The Soul Of PAS Rages As PRU13 Unfolds

Consider the following:

With the rise of Mat Sabu and the so far demise of Nasharuddin Mat Isa following Hassan Ali's expulsion from PAS' leadership line, the so called 'Erdogan' or pro-Anwar Ibrahim group has never been so close to seizing power in PAS. So, sure enough, despite the importance of PRU13 to DS Anwar Ibrahim personally and in fact to all the Rakyat... personally also(!), party politics are being played out in PAS(!), with...

1. The attack on the personal character of Mustapha Ali through the revelation of a (likely fake) sex video, that Pakatan insiders have indicated are likely not by UMNO or any other Barisan Nasional component! An attack on Mustapha Ali is an attack on PAS President TG Hadi Awang himself, who besides the politically less effective Harun Din, is the last remaining bastion against Erdogan control of PAS. Mustapha is Hadi's 'enforcer' or rather 'consiglieri' in the party.


2. Looking back, this follows year-long attacks on another TG Hadi ally and anti-Erdogan stalwart, Kedah MB Syed Azizan. The main contenders against Azizan are Erdogan leaning at least.


3. PKR candidates competing against PAS candidates in what would otherwise have been safe  or at worse grey seats for PAS in Terengganu. Similar tussles such as in Pantai Acheh are just thrown in to confuse the real purpose - a sabotaging of PAS' albeit slim chances of winning Terengganu! This is to ensure TG Hadi Awang has no chance of regaining the powerful position of Menteri Besar of the state that would make him unassailable.


4. TG Hadi Awang himself suddenly attacking PKR visciously in the state, probably realising that these moves by PKR are part of a strategy towards ousting TG Hadi Awang himself, perhaps through a forced retirement, to allow Mat Sabu to be acting President of PAS (!) or even to open the door for the more credible Salahuddin Ayubb or an Erdogan Ulama to topple TG Hadi.

That this madness is happening in PAS during PRU13 is further evidence of the insanity that surrounds DS Anwar Ibrahim. Perhaps like the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, DS Anwar is so imbued in the Dark Side that everything around him, including his allies, are just naturally corrupted! May he not succeed in his grasp for power unlike Sidous who eventually became Emperor in that famous space opera!

DARTH JUBURIUS GLOATING OVER HIS 'DEATH STAR'

PS what does that make Mat Sabu? Anakin Skywalker?!?! Naaaaah.... more like Jar Jar Binks! So easily duped!

BN Delivered On One Key Thing: BN Removed Pak Lah From PM Post!

There are many reasons to vote and not vote BN. For me and my family, the personal toll from recent years have been heavy, with the disruption of our lives from MRT Co's continued irresponsibility continuing. However, there is one thing that BN and UMNO did in response to the Rakyat's protest vote in PRU12 that at least signals that they do listen to the electorate and may be worth given a better result in PRU13:

BN AND UMNO GOT RID OF PAK LAH FROM THE PM POST AFTER PRU 12!

It may have taken about a year for them to do so, but this was an achievement by BN and UMNO which, coupled with the dismantling of some things Pak Lah did which we clearly disliked, really helped. E.g. Islam Hadhari as a concept for one was a concept that lost BN a lot of votes across the nation. Fortunately, DS Najib's cabinet has ditched Islam Hadhari, allowing for them to better and more properly manage the 'Kalimah Allah' issue.

Some would then say that the removal of Pak Lah is 'no big deal' and that his son-in-law, Khairy Jamaluddin or 'KJ', staill haunts UMNO and BN. In response to this, I'd just ignore KJ and remind everyone that PAKATAN RAKYAT ACTUALLY WANTED PAK LAH TO STAY AS PM! This despite the Rakyat clearly indicating their disappointment of Pak Lah's regime by causing BN to lose 5 states in PRU12, a mere 4 years after Pak Lah's landslide victory in PRU11!

These were Haji Hadi Awang's words in January 2009, throwing his and at least PAS', if not the whole of Pakatan Rakyat's support behind Pak Lah:

"Saya meminta Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi terus kekal sebagai Perdana Menteri dan meneruskan reformasi yang diperlukan seperti dalam bidang pilihan raya dan beberapa bidang lain," -- Pas president Abdul Hadi Awang, Jan 2009.

So, the fact that BN and UMNO listened to the people and compelled Pak Lah to retire, in a nevertheless decent, respectful manner in 2009, is itself proof positive that the Rakyat's views do matter to them. So whilst I am still at odd with MRT Co, I will still vote BN, as in my view, Pakatan Rakyat is worse! Pakatan Rakyat even wanted Pak Lah to stay as PM! Of course, they once hated Anwar Ibrahim, but he is their 'de facto' leader now?

...Pakatan is so unelectable! 

Is Hj Hadi Honourably Bowing Out By Challenging DS Najib In Pekan?

I thought that it being election day in the US and with the PM being overseas, that there would hardly be any local political news left to capture my imagination. Then I saw the news in the NST reporting an earlier tabloid report of Hj Hadi Awang, the PAS President, considering contesting against DS Najib for his parliamentary seat in Pekan!

Those in the know know that this is not really a silly notion. DS Najib's seat, despite being held by his family, with his father before him, since independence, excepting the period when he was Menteri Besar of Pahang, is not actually safe! DS Najib almost lost the seat in the 1999 General Election and it has ever been the target of the opposition since.

However, since 1999, DS Najib and his organisation has taken some significant steps to make the seat more secure. Certainly since 2004's PRU11 landslide, when the seat was held by a Deputy Prime Minister for the first time in some 3.5 decades, the likelihood of DS Najib being beaten off the seat has dimished significantly. So, any opposition leader challenging DS Najib in Pekan, even DS Anwar Ibrahim, would be committing harakiri!

So, is that really what Hj Hadi Awang is after? A noble political death at the hands of DS Najib at the pollbooths of Pekan? It should be noted though that there may be more reasons that one for Hj Hadi to wish for an end to his political life. Among them?:

1. Hj Hadi's leadership of his party has been increasingly undermined over the period of his tenure. In the first place, Tok Guru Nik Aziz's role as an unelected spiritual chief seems ever at odds with him on some quite temporal matters. I would not see him as being too comfortable staying in the role if he keeps being treated like so.


2. The loss of YB Nasharuddin Mat Isa to YB Mat Sabu must still rankle. Whilst Hj Hadi is ever pragmatic as a politician that has survived the ups and downs of politics for so long, I am sure he would prefer YB Nasha as his presumed successor to be groomed - the younger, more educated and urbane man being more suited to attract the more educated younger generation to the party.


3. Hj Hadi is also likely feeling the physical limits of his age now. Word on the ground in Marang over the last Hari Raya Haji was that he could not do the full circuit of mosques in his constituency to participate in the physical slaughtering of the animals for 'Qurban'. He had to delegate half as he was not fit enough. This may also be the reason why he does not 'turun padang' as actively as before.


4. Hj Hadi may end up losing in Marang this time around as UMNO and BN in the area has revived, with Dato' Rahman Bakar, the 'giant-killer' who had beaten Hj Hadi before likely to be involved in PRU13, either as a candidate or at least as a key contributor to any BN campaign.

So, a political HARAKIRI! may be just the tonic Hj Hadi needs to ease him towards a final retirement from politics. In fact, he may well have seen the light from observing how much YB Nasha and even YB Hasan Ali has been able to continue to contribute despite being expelled from the mainstream of PAS party politics. Perhaps he feels it is time for him to invest the last years of his life in something more constructive than being PAS President?

Keputusan Muktamar PAS: Hadi - 1, Anwar - 0

Dengan kemenangan YB Nasaruddin Mat Isa sebagai Timbalan Presiden PAS, maka selesailah perang proksi pada Muktamar PAS baru-baru ini, dengan kemenangan 1-0 kepada pihak Presiden PAS, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang. Kemenangan kepada Hadi Awang? Eh, bukankah DS Hadi memang sudah menang tanpa bertanding? Bukankah Nasaruddin mengalahkan Datuk Husam Musa dan YB Mat Sabu?

Sebenarnya, pertandingan Nasaruddin <-> Husam baru-baru ini (yang hanya dikelirukan sejenak dengan penyertaan Mat Sabu juga dalam pertandingan) adalah kali pertama 'perang proksi' secara terbuka berlaku dalam PAS di antara 2 pemimpin paling berpengaruh di dalam parti tersebut, terutama sekali sejak PRU-12. Ada yang sering mensalah-tafsirkan perang ini sebagai perselisihan antara DS Hadi dan TG Nik Aziz, tetapi ini suatu andaian yang kurang tepat.

Datuk Husam Musa sering dibilang merupakan anak buah TG Nik Aziz Nik Mat dan semestinya, kedudukan yang ulung diberikan beliau sepanjang berkhidmat untuk PAS di Kelantan seolah-olah membuktikan sedemikian. Namun, ada 3 fakta yang menyangkal perkara ini, yakni:

1. TG Nik Aziz tak berapa banyak pilihan antara pemimpin-pemimpin muda PAS Kelantan yang segenerasi dengan Husam. Memang Husam terserlah yang paling berbakat dalam mengimbangi politik dan kelihatan mahir juga dalam pentadbiran mahupun teori ekonomi. Maka Husam terpilih diasuh ke jawatan penting di Kelantan kerana tiada pilihan lain di depan mata TG Nik Aziz.


2. Penulis yakin 'kepakaran' Datuk Husam sekadar persepsi sahaja, kerana kalau betul beliau hebat dalam mengurus ekonomi, mana bisa Kelantan tetap mundur sekian lama? Fakta ini bila digabungkan dengan pendapat yang dibuahkan oleh Nik Abduh Nik Aziz, yang bapanya 'dipengaruhi', memberi gambaran yang bukan TG Nik Aziz yang membimbing Husam. Mungkin sekali Husam yang memperkudakan TG Nik Aziz!


3. Datuk Husam Musa merupakan anak didik DS Anwar Ibrahim di Yayasan Anda dahulu sebelum beliau giat berpolitik di arena PAS. Kesetiaan beliau juga kelihatan jelas kepada DS Anwar, apabila beliau membantu usaha Datuk KJ PAS (Kamaruddin Jaafar) membatalkan kerjasama PAS-BN untuk menubuhkan kerajaan campuran di Selangor dan Perak sejurus selepas PRU-12. Ini kemudian membenarkan PKR meraih jawatan MB di Selangor.

Maka, pertandingan yang pada lahirnya berlangsung antara Nasaruddin <-> Husam di Muktamar PAS baru-baru ini sebenarnya adalah PERANG PROKSI ANTARA DS HADI AWANG <-> DS ANWAR IBRAHIM!

Pembaca tidak harus terkejut tentang perkara ini. Memang inilah perangai DS Anwar Ibrahim - beliau tak berani menyertai dan memimpin parti pembangkang, walaupun parti PKR yang taksub kepadanya, kerana berharap dapat kembali memimpin UMNO satu hari nanti. Namun, kerana keupayaan beliau menyatu-padukan Pakatan Pembangkang, suara beliau didengari para pemimpin PAS dan DAP. Tambah lagi, di dalam PAS, anak buahnya menduduki jawatan penting.

Namun, kekalahan Husam pasti membimbangkan DS Anwar sekarang. Inilah usahanya yang paling nekad untuk merebut kuasa di dalam PAS melalui pertandingan di peringkat tertinggi menerusi proksinya. Adakah kekalahan Husam akan membahayakan kedudukan semua proksinya yang lain? Mungkinkah DS Hadi akan menuntut lebih banyak pengaruh untuk dirinya dan PAS lalu mula menyisih DS Anwar ke tepi?

Wallahualam... namun PAS mungkin kini lebih sedar akan kekuatannya sendiri. Dari dipimpin peliwat di arena politik kebangsaan, bukankah mereka seharusnya memimpin Pakatan Pembangkang?