KUALA LUMPUR – PKR vice-president Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has taken PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang to task over his apparent hypocritical statements on non-Muslims.
He said Hadi’s attempt to lure non-Muslim support for PAS rings hollow seeing that the PAS chief once labelled non-Muslims as the nation’s “destroyers”.
“Reading Hadi’s latest ‘message’ reminds me of his insults to non-Malay voters. Last August, he claimed that the non-Muslims and non-Bumiputera were the majority groups destroying the nation’s politics and economy.
“Now, he is soliciting votes from the same groups. Hadi is known for his inconsistencies. Today he says something, tomorrow he says something else,” Nik Nazmi said in a statement today.
Instead, he said all races and religions must be involved in nation-building to push Malaysia forward, while reiterating that PKR has never labelled any race as the “nation’s destroyers”.
“I believe in the various initiatives undertaken by the unity government. It will give all voters confidence – irrespective of race and religion – to continue supporting this government.
During the 69th PAS Muktamar yesterday, Hadi called on party members to work hard in bringing non-Muslim voters into the fold to garner support ahead of the next general election.
He said this was in line with the findings from the 2022 general election, where one of the party’s weak spots was the lack of non-Muslim support.
Meanwhile, the prime minister’s political secretary, Ahmad Farhan Fauzi, also chastised Hadi’s remarks, saying the PAS president does not reflect Islam’s true values.
Expressing disappointment, he said Hadi should have instead championed the values of togetherness, unity and belonging – as Islam was spread through the unification of people from various backgrounds.
“Just because we wear a skullcap, it does not mean that others are not pious or truly Islamic. Let’s be moderate in our politics and not condescend to those who have a different ideology.” – October 21, 2023