PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has called on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to promise that the general  election will not be held in October, when many Muslims will perform the haj.

“A guarantee is needed to ease the anxiety of haj pilgrims in relation to their right to be voters” Tuan Ibrahim said in a press statement today.

pas seminar 071109 tuan ibrahim He said 30,000 Muslims were facing uncertainty because many of them are potential candidates, candidates’ representatives and election directors.

“Without a guarantee, they will be stuck in a dilemma between continuing with the pilgrimage and postponing it.

“This involves all political parties, as it will have a huge impact on the election results and voter turnout,” Tuan Ibrahim added.

The Islamic party has been criticised recently for urging its members who are directly involved in the general election to postpone their haj obligations.

Several Islamic scholars were quoted by Utusan Malaysia yesterday condemning PAS for placing political obligations higher than religious ones.

The scholars claimed that it is immoral to delay the haj obligation if one can afford it.

While Tuan Ibrahim did not directly address the criticisms, he accused Najib of creating uncertainty by continuously forcing the public to guess the election date.

He added that Najib’s inability to provide significant notice for an election date showed that the BN’s position was precarious.

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