Pas Congress 2

Pas Youth Defends Stand On Selangor Leadership Crisis

by Shahrum Sayuthi

KOTA TINGGI: The PAS Youth leadership had vowed to defend the party’s stand in the Selangor leadership crisis.

The party’s wing chief Suhaizan Kaiat said members of the movement would not allow anyone from questioning the party’s integrity.

He however, insisted that reconciliation efforts will be continuous to repair the damage caused by the crisis among the Pakatan coalition.

“In whatever crisis that we are facing, Pas Youth needs to show political maturity and acumen to control the situation and prevent it from getting worse.

“This, however, does not mean that we are preventing people from voicing their opinions.

“We are still free to voice our views as young men who are critical and full of ideas but this must done properly in order to manage the situation,” said Suhaizan in his keynote address at the Pas Youth annual general meeting here today.

Pas had recently been criticised by PKR and DAP for submitting three nominations for the Selangor menteri besar post instead of just PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Ismail as demanded by its allies.

He said the negative impact of the crisis should not be taken lightly as a recent survey by University of Malaya Centre for Democracy and Election (UMCEDEL) showed that support for the Pakatan coalition have fallen to 35 per cent compared to the same survey done before the last general election that put the support at 50 per cent.

“Therefore, Pas Youth is urging the Pakatan Rakyat leadership to take notice of this matter and to take immediate steps to strengthen the relationship between the parties in Pakatan Rakyat. This survey should be a wake-up call for us to improve our organisation and not wait until we have actually been rejected by the people,” said Suhaizan.

Suhaizan also pointed out Pas’ weaknesses which include its inability to manage the negative impact of the Selangor leadership crisis within the party.

“It seems that the party does not have an action plan to manage the situation and the differences of opinions within Pas were not handled properly until it become a full blown crisis.

“For instance, Pas Youth is saddened when the Syura Council was belittled and questioned by certain party members as well as outsiders over the issue,” he said.

However, Suhaizan said it was still not too late and he is confident the party can still make changes to strengthen the party’s management.

“The Syura Council needs to be strengthen so that it can continue to guide the party so that it does not stray from Syarak.”

In his speech, Suhaizan also voiced his fear of the declining support for the party in Kelantan.

“Our support in Kelantan have dipped below 50 per cent and our win in the state was helped by outstation voters who returned to vote. This is a signal that the people of Kelantan are dissatisfied with the performance of the Kelantan government,” said Suhaizan.

He said it is worth reminding that the people of Kelantan is known for their critical and dynamic political thinking.

“History have shown that the people of Kelantan would not hesitate to reject Pas if they are not satisfied with the performance of the state government,” said Suhaizan.

He said a proper planning is needed in Kelantan.

“Internal crisis needs to be handled, improvement in the Kelantan government must be implemented, all the promises must be fulfilled and the leaders must know the people’s inspiration,” said Suhaizan.
Additional reporting by Rizalman Hammim. 

- source NST online