COMMENT After newly-minted Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali announced his new state executive council line-up today, it became clear that PAS lost an exco position to PKR, with its quota in the state government being reduced from four to three seats.

While some lauded this as a deserving punishment for PAS for its inconsistent position that aggravated the Selangor crisis that was started by PKR, others are angry that PAS, which has 15 state assemblypersons, should have less positions than PKR, which has only 13 seats.

PAS' conduct may have been given cause for its representation to be reduced, but the Islamic party put the nail in its own coffin after it effectively disowned two of its Selangor assemblypersons by launching a series of vitriolic attacks against them for taking PKR's side in the crisis.

For one, PAS was seen as being inconsistent with its initial decision on the menteri besar crisis, even though its muktamar, which took place at the peak of the fiasco, was themed "Terus Beristiqamah" (to be consistent in one's struggle).

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang ( left ), in a series of strange moves, took three varying positions in the Selangor crisis.

These ranged from nominating PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her deputy Azmin Ali as menteri besar candidates to "leaving it to the Selangor palace to decide" and, subsequently, submitting PAS' own candidates for the top job.

These moves courted criticism from within PAS, particularly from the reform-minded professionals, dubbed the "Erdogan", and also riled up Pakatan Rakyat supporters who are pro-Anwar Ibrahim and stood by the PKR decision to push Wan Azizah as menteri besar.

The pro-Hadi faction promptly responded, and fiercely as well, to these criticisms at their party's three-day muktamar that began last Wednesday, which saw the Erdogan leaders being booed down, fuelling the heated meeting in Batu Pahat.

In a bid to cool down the tensed atmosphere at the muktamar, PAS deputy spiritual leader Haron Din implored delegates not to raise issues that can aggravate the cracks between the competing faction.

Respecting the call, delegates and party leaders struck a reconciliation on the last day of the muktamar, in a bid to calm the situation.

But the muktamar concluded with Hadi's stinging, and now infamous lackey ( barua ) and broker speech , which shocked those within and outside PAS, reopening the party's wounds which were, before this, seen as being on the mend.

Hadi's target was none other than the PAS assemblypersons in Selangor, Saari Sungib (Hulu Kelang) and Hasnul Baharuddin (Morib), who sided with PKR in the state's menteri besar crisis.

Disowned assemblypersons

Vexed by the party president's broadside, Saari challenged Hadi to produce proof that he was "bought over" by PKR to sign a statutory declaration in support of Wan Azizah.

Saari ( left ), a respected Islamist and former Internal Security Act detainee, also reiterated that he was prepared to be sacked from PAS and prosecuted for corruption if Hadi could produce any such evidence.

"I don't know what he meant by 'broker', 'lackey', 'stolen' and 'bought', as before this I have never heard about me being a 'broker', 'lackey' or 'being bought'," Saari was quoted as saying in reference to Hadi's speech.

Hadi's position, coupled with the protest stunts at the muktamar, did indeed deal a blow to the party's image.

Even though the "Kajang Move" was initiated by PKR with the aim of resolving its internal strife by installing a new Selangor menteri besar, deeper rifts have appeared in PAS.

The Selangor crisis can be likened to PKR suffering a flu for a mere few days but PAS, which contacted the infection, came down with severe fever, and which has spanned months.

Today, PAS has lost an exco seat as it is presumed to only have 13 state assemblypersons, although it was compensated with the deputy speaker position.

Prior to this, and aside from the menteri besar position, PKR and DAP only held three exco posts, while PAS had four.

The general notion has always been that PKR, is the smallest partner in the Selangor Pakatan coalition with 14 assemblypersons, and later 13 after it sacked incumbent Selangor menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim ( left ) from the party, while DAP and PAS had 15 respectively.

However, following the Selangor crisis, PAS is seeing two of its assemblypersons as "traitors" who had gone to PKR's side, even though they never renounced their loyalty to PAS.

As a result of the internal split in PAS, PKR now emerges as the strongest Pakatan party in Selangor, thereby bolstering its claim for the four exco positions it now holds, as well as the seat of menteri besar.

While PAS is still licking its wounds amid continued resentment between the pro-Pakatan and pro-Hadi groups, PKR has immediately moved to close ranks with Azmin bringing in different factions in PKR into his new government.

PKR unites, PAS remains split

Former deputy speaker Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (Seri Setia), seen as a supporter of the Kajang Move, and rival Amirudin Shari (Batu Caves), who is an Azmin loyalist, were both brought into the exco line-up.

In contrast to PAS, PKR's bid to rebuild unity among its ranks is a much easier task as friction over the Selangor crisis has largely been kept under wraps and away from the media limelight

The manoeuvrings between Azmin's supporters, who have been wanting him as menteri besar, and rivals Saifuddin Nasution Ismail or Rafizi Ramli, who engineered the Kajang Move to install Wan Azizah ( right ) in the top post, were generally less confrontational, despite some isolated outbursts.

PKR, which also held its congress at the height of the Selangor menteri besar crisis, did not turn its annual general assembly into an open warfare. In fact, the congress was seen as rather tame and lethargic.

In contrast, competing PAS leaders publicly declared open war and their supporters hurled vitroil at one another at the muktamar, and in the social media as well.

As the Selangor saga comes to a conclusion, PAS has come out as the biggest loser, while PKR has consolidated its position, though not due to its own political savvy.

Instead, the outcome is a reflection of PAS' own political absurdity, fuelled by the Islamic party's political intrigue and unabated struggle between the Erdogan and pro-ulama groups, which have remained unresolved since 2008.

The factionalism within PAS deepened a year before the party election last year and this competition is continuing unabated , with opponents intensifying their rivalry at the muktamar that just ended, setting the tables for the next party elections due next year.

It is not for PAS to resent or blame PKR for tightening its grip on power in Selangor. However, it is seen that the Islamic party requires some serious introspection.

PAS' manoeuvring and subsequent infighting is seen as embodied the fictionial Malay clown Pak Kaduk and in the Malay saying, "menang sorak, kampung tergadai" (Winning the battle, but losing the war).

FATHI ARIS OMAR is a member of the Malaysiakini team.