PAS targets prime minister’s post, says no more ‘giving way’ to other parties
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 — PAS Youth delegates have urged the party to lead cooperation with other political parties while insisting that it has enough qualified candidates to lead the federal government.
PAS Kedah Youth chief Ilyas Ahmad said efforts to unite Muslims at the federal level should be led by PAS, which he said should no longer make way for other parties to put forward the prime ministerial candidate, according to a Malaysiakini report.
“We do not want to hear any more words such as ‘it’s okay, let someone else become prime minister’. We do not want to hear that anymore! This time, we want to ensure PAS becomes the main leader at the federal level,” he said.
He was speaking during the debate on the PAS Youth chief’s policy speech at the PAS muktamar here yesterday.
Ahead of the Johor state election on July 11, Barisan Nasional chairman and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told Sin Chew Daily that, if he became prime minister, he would focus on three areas — the economy, equitable education and national security.
Following BN’s strong showing in the election, the coalition subsequently forged an electoral cooperation with PAS through Perikatan Nasional (PN) based on the principle of Muslim unity.
However, there has been no official announcement so far on whether the two sides will cooperate in the upcoming Melaka state election.
Earlier yesterday, PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang said the party was ready for the 16th General Election (GE16), including if it were called earlier than scheduled.
His statement came after Zahid said Umno-BN wanted GE16 to be held earlier to allow the government to secure a fresh mandate from the people.
Meanwhile, PAS Terengganu Youth delegate Mukhlis Hasin echoed the Kedah representative’s view, saying PAS must lead efforts to forge unity rather than merely become a “follower”.
“Never be afraid to defend our identity simply because we want to preserve unity. We should not be afraid to defend the truth just because we want to maintain unity,” he said while debating the policy speech.
He said PAS Youth was not only responsible for uniting members at the grassroots level but also had to ensure the party leadership was prepared to make any efforts towards unity successful.
“Our biggest challenge in leading this unity is that sometimes the children (party members) want to unite, but their fathers (party leaders) have certain needs and reasons that prevent unity from being properly achieved,” he said.
