Pas Congress 5

It turned out there was a Pas Congress 5 after all.  GOTCHA, right back at me.

And the drama heightened toward the end of the night, while I was sleeping.. Read about the emotionally-charged incident in 

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/09/16/PAS-Youth-meet-uporoar/ 

and

http://www.nst.com.my/node/34032

Politics!

My little office drama is nothing compared to this.  There will always be conflicts and personality clashes in every organsiation.  As long as the place has a group of people, there will be polarised views. 

Need to get ready for work.

- source:   http://www.lifebuzz.com/lifehacks-for-dogs/. 

Pas Congress 4

BY MARTIN CARVALHO, RAHIMY RAHIM AND YEE XIANG YUN

KOTA TINGGI: The start of the PAS Youth annual gathering was marred by a "walkout" by a group of delegates, believed to be supporters of PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and the Syura Ulamak Council.

The incident happened before Asar prayers at 4.30pm, just before PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu delivered his opening speech.

The group, numbering less 50, are believed to be from Selangor, Terengganu and Kelantan.

Several were spotted donning black vests with words expressing support for Hadi and the council.

Party vice-president Salahuddin Ayub said the party leadership would ask the youth movement to submit a report on the alleged incident.

Mat Sabu later downplayed the incident, saying that some delegates left the hall to perform evening prayers.

"It is normal for delegates coming in and out.

"Coincidentally, it was time Asar prayers when I was about to start my speech," he said.

Asked on the vest supporting Hadi and the council worn by the delegates who left the hall, he said the party did impose a dress code for gathering.

"They can wear whatever they want.

"Some even wear vests supporting Pakatan with others wearing those supporting Gaza," he said.

He added that he did not view the alleged incident as a protest.

The recent Selangor Mentri Besar crisis had allegedly created a rift between those loyal to Hadi and those believed to be aligned with PKR advisor Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

- source Star online

Pas Congress 3

by Shahrum Sayuthi and Rizalman Hammim

KOTA TINGGI: Pas deputy president Mohamad Sabu has called on Pas to maintain its friendship with PKR and DAP despite the current strained relationship between the Pakatan allies.

Mohamad, who was opening the Pas Youth annual general meeting here pointed out that Pas has always been weakened when it loses its “friends” and suffered badly in general elections after that.

He reminded the Pas Youth delegates of the poor showing by the party in the 2004 general election following DAP’s decision to leave Barisan Alternative after the relatively good showing of the then opposition coalition in the 1999 general election.

“Every time we lose a friend, we will lose votes, that’s the reality. Therefore we must keep our friends in order to do well,” he said.

Mohamad also stressed that Pas members must always regard Umno as their main enemy and that friendship with it is impossible to achieve.

“Do not give your hand (in friendship) to Umno. We will slap away hands which try to do that,” he said.

Mohamad also called on party members not to consider breaking away from the party due to disagreement and differences of opinion following the Selangor leadership crisis.

He drew parallel of what is happening in Malaysia to that which happened in Indonesia where the split of Islamic movements. there had caused them the lost opportunity in gaining power in the republic’s recent general election.

Mohamad also reiterated that Pas will always be led by the ulama of the party and that those who disagreed with the Syura Council ’s stand in the handling of the Selangor crisis were merely offering a check and balance to their leadership.

The Syura Council, which is the highest decision making body in the party had recently thrown its support behind Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim but Pas central committee, dominated by the faction led by Mohammed had instead sided with the decision by PKR and DAP to remove him.

Discussion over the split of opinion between Pas leaders over the issue was expected to dominate the party’s muktamar (annual general meeting) which will start on Thursday.

- source NST online

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

Pas Congress

Internal Disputes Were Poorly Handled

by Martin Carvalho, Rahimy Rahim and Yee Xiang Yun

KOTA TINGGI: Poor management of internal disputes by the party's leadership has caused a small wound to fester, said PAS youth chief Suhaizan Kayat.

"The public is shaking its head when it sees how weakly we have managed the crisis," he said when delivering his opening speech at the 55th annual PAS Youth general assembly on Tuesday.

He blamed the party's central committee lack of plans to manage internal party conflicts as the reason for PAS's worsening problems.

"Differing views within PAS are not well managed resulting in serious crisis.

"PAS youth is saddened that the Suyra Council was belittled and questioned by members and outsiders," he added.

- source Star online

Happy Malaysia Day!

Today is the nation's 51st Malaysia Day celebration. It is a public holiday. Today is also the start of the Pas' 60th AGM. I wrote about it in

http://ardentindulgence.blogspot.com/2014/09/solidarity-muktamar-and-vep.html

All eyes will be on this congress. Let's watch what happens.

Meanwhile, NST's political editor Shahrum Sayuthi writes on the matter

In the NST online edition today

JOHOR BARU: The Pas’ 60th muktamar (annual general assembly), set to be held in Parit Salleh Ros in Parit Raja, Batu Pahat from Thursday till Saturday had an earlier than scheduled curtain raiser when its youth wing decided to start its meeting today.

Pas Youth was initially to have just a day meeting on Wednesday, but the plan was changed in the final hours.

“We have a lot to discuss at our meeting,” said a source within the party’s wing without elaborating when asked about the need to have more time for their meeting.

It was nonetheless understood that Pas Youth leaders had decided that they needed additional time to conduct their meeting due to the latest development in the Selangor leadership crisis which had seriously damaged relations not only between Pas and its Pakatan allies but also among the factions who made up the party’s own leadership.

The party’s youth wing leadership was said to be equally divided between the religious and so called “progressive” factions who opposed each other over the issue of whether Pas should stand united with its Pakatan allies at all costs or give priority to defending its own Islamic ideals.

The Pas Youth meeting was to be held at Dewan Choon Moi, Kota Tinggi starting at 12.30pm today.

The party’s religious leadership body, known as Dewan Ulama and the party’s women wing, better known as Dewan Muslimat will start their meeting as scheduled on Wednesday at 9am.

The Dewan Ulama meeting will be at the IOI Resort in Kulaijaya, while the Dewan Muslimat’s to be at Pulai Spring Resort, here.

It was expected that both the Dewan Ulama and the women wing will reiterate their support for party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang who recently broke rank with his PKR and DAP counterparts by nominating three candidates for the MB post as decreed by the Selangor Sultan, instead of just PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Hadi was heavily criticised for his decision not only by PKR and DAP leaders but also the faction within Pas known to be supportive of PKR de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

The Pas muktamar is held in Johor for the first time this year with the initial aim of creating a better presence for the party in this state which has always been known as an Umno’s stronghold.

Pas had in the last two general elections made some inroad in Johor, winning the State seats of Maharani and Sungai along in 2008, and adding two more, Parit Yaani and Puteri Wangsa last year.

Observers however had predicted that the muktamar will instead be dominated by heated discussions on the party’s problems stemming from the Selangor leadership crisis which had split Pas into factions which on one side is supportive of the party’s own ideals and the other who insisted on the importance of relations with PKR and DAP above all else.

The organising of the muktamar has been problematic from the start when the organizer had to abandoned its original plan of holding it at Taman Sutera Utama in Skudai, here after a disagreement with the landowner forced the party to switch the venue to the one in Batu Pahat.

It is also interesting to note that the muktamar is being held during the campaigning period for the Pengkalan Kubor by-election, where PAS candidate Wan Rosdi Wan Ibrahim is facing a three-cornered fight in the by-election against Barisan Nasional's Mat Razi Mat Ail and independent candidate Izat Bukhary Ismail Bukhary.

The voting for the by-election is scheduled for September 25.