KUALA LUMPUR — PAS must aim to win 60 seats in the 16th general election (GE16), a target set by party president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang.
Deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, who delivered this mandate in his winding-up speech at PAS’ 70th annual muktamar in Temerloh, Pahang, reminded delegates the party’s previous goal in GE15 in 2022 was to win at least 40 seats.
The Islamic party ended up winning 43 seats in GE15, as it managed to flip several Malay-majority seats that were previously held by Umno. PAS’s electoral success was dubbed by political observers as the “green wave”.
Tuan Ibrahim said in GE14 in 2018, PAS won just 18 seats.
“For GE16, the party president has set a target where PAS must win 60 parliamentary seats.
“We need to take this (target) as a challenge for all of us – the youths, the elderly, the Muslimat wing, the Ameerah wing, Dewan Himpunan Penyokong PAS (DHPP), and PAS supporters.
“All of us need to be ready to retain the victories that we gained (from GE15) and set targets to win more seats,” said Tuan Ibrahim in his speech.
To do this, Tuan Ibrahim, who is also Kubang Kerian MP, said the party must work on rejuvenating itself with the goal of taking over Putrajaya.
He offered several approaches, including better and wider engagement to “non-mainstream media and non-Malay media that don’t know us”.
He said he had non-Muslim friends, including DAP leaders, who said that they “don’t know PAS” and what they knew was information obtained from PAS’ rival, Umno.
“Plus, there are sultans and states’ top leaders who also said that they don’t know PAS.
“That is why they get a wrong impression of us,” Tuan Ibrahim said.
To correct misconceptions, he urged the party’s Youth wing to organised trips for non-Muslims to PAS-controlled states — Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu — so they could see how the party is administering these states, and relations between non-Malays and Malays there.
Tuan Ibrahim said PAS will also organise a people’s congress as an avenue for the party to listen to the public’s views about it.
PAS will listen to what others say about it, he added, because it needs to be inclusive and open.
To improve the party’s appeal, he also suggested simpler but important measures, including ensuring clean and working conditions of PAS offices and operations bases, including the toilets, to project a good image of the party. — September 15, 2024