PAS Youth chief Nasruddin Hassan today urged party leaders not to take lightly the erosion of Malay support for the Islamist party and the perception that it was ignoring the concerns of Malay grassroots.

pas muktamar 130610 nasruddin hassan 2 Speaking in the winding up session of the party's 56th annual muktamar meeting in Pengkalan Chepa Kelantan, Nasruddin ( left ) warned that while he knew Umno was “lying” its way through to the hearts and minds of Malays, it would be erroneous for PAS to assume its rival’s propaganda did not have an effect.

“Since 2008 till now, PAS have been steadily losing ground in getting Malay votes ” said the Egypt-educated youth leader.

A particular issue of contention is PAS’ relations with the Chinese-dominated and secular DAP party, said Nasruddin.

“They are saying that PAS is the puppet of the DAP and have abandoned its cause,” he lamented.

Umno's psychological warfare has also managed to place PAS at odds with Malay-based NGOs and affected them into having a dim view of the party, Nasruddin claimed further.

For these reasons, said Nasruddin, the party should engage more intensely with the NGOs and the Malay community so that it can correct any misconceptions either may have about PAS.

On its part, the youth wing will launch the Movement for New Voters and Members (Gempa) to both recruit new members for the party as well as register new voters.

The initiative will also serve to expand the support base of the party and provide greater opportunity for wing members to engage with the public, said Nasruddin.

On the other end of the spectrum, however, PAS central committee member Dzulkefly Ahmad asserted his stand that the party is not the least threatened by the erosion of Malay support.

Any speculations asserting otherwise are merely Umno propaganda and should be dismissed as such, said Dzulkefly.

“PAS is feared by Umno because the public no longer view (us) as the 'extremist' party that they have tried to paint us to be. That is why they are attacking us now,” the Kuala Selangor MP ( below ) explained.

pas muktamar 130610 dzulkefly ahmad The 'psych-war' attack, he said, is part of the Malay-based Umno's strategy of trying to undermine PAS since the Islamic party is now comfortable with engaging with all segments of society and has been well-received even by non-Muslims and non-Malays.

“They want us to doubt ourselves, and make us wonder if we are a political entity or a propagation entity,” he said.

The reality is that PAS is both a political organisation and a body that propagates the teachings of Islam, something which Umno fears because the principles of PAS are "beautiful", "pure" and "clear" and appeals to both Muslims and non-Muslims alike, said Dzulkefly.

Opposed to all forms of gambling

On another matter, youth leader Nasruddin said a recent news report had wrongfully portrayed his wing as being against banning forms of gambling other than sports betting.

pas muktamar 130610 nasruddin hassan 1 “That is not true. Maybe they misunderstand... (Our stand is,) let us take on sports betting first as the latest form of gambling.

“Give some time before we can move to pressure the government to ban other forms of gambling which is against the tenets of all religions," said Nasruddin.

Yesterday the youth wing managed to pass a motion at the muktamar to push for a ban on sports betting .

They decided, however, not to amend the motion to cover all forms of betting as suggested by one delegate.