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The western suited progressives in PAS can only have their way if Party President Abdul Hadi Awang himself goes out on a limb and throws his lot with them. That would be a neat trick.

COMMENT

The speculation in the alternative media is that PAS Central Committee members and its Shura Council found common ground during a two-day retreat which ended on Sun and unanimously agreed to remain in the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) coalition which includes Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and the Democratic Action Party (DAP).

An official party announcement is expected to be made soon on the outcome of the retreat. Both PKR and DAP will no doubt only accept an announcement on PR from Party President Abdul Hadi Awang himself on the deliberations during the retreat.

The reasoning can best be found in DAP Secretary General Lim Guan Engs statement in recent days that it appears that any decision taken by the PAS Central Committee and the Shura Council can be overridden by Hadi as he himself has claimed.

In that sense, the western suited progressives in PAS can only have their way if Hadi goes out on a limb and throws his lot with them.

It would be a neat trick if the PAS leader can do this without at the same time alienating the ulamas in the party, in particular the Shura Council.

Already, he absents himself from meetings with PKR and DAP and any decision taken by PR without him being present as well has failed to get the backing of the ulamas and the Shura Council. Evidently, this forces Hadi to distance himself from decisions taken by PR in his absence.

Theres a sandiwara of sorts going on here. Hadi sends his deputies to attend PR meetings and if he doesnt like the outcome, he plays coy. This has been enough to drive DAP in particular up the wall and the party members to scream abuse with Hadi being the prime target. PKR has been more patient.

Lim has reportedly since sent Hadi a respectful message that he must not in future skip any PR meeting attended by him, his father Lim Kit Siang and Anwar Ibrahim. Its not clear what he would do if Hadi fails to turn up. The likely scenario is that PR would not make any policy announcement should Hadi absent himself. But that does not mean that PKR and DAP cannot agree informally on a bilateral basis but keep their discussions under wraps.

Read the rest here:
PAS hot and cold on Pakatan Rakyat