PAS’ campaign for a new leadership line-up in June may appear to be chiefly between the conservatives and pro-reformers in the party, but a top leader now claims there is a “third force” supported by Umno messing up the contest.

PAS delegates meet every two years to vote for a new leadership, and campaign for posts usually fires up six months ahead of the annual general assembly (muktamar).

PAS central committee member Mujahid Yusof Rawa ( left in photo ) claims that the heated campaign leading up to the muktamar appears to be fuelled by what he describes as a “bigger structure”.

He does not discount the party’s arch-rival Umno’s “hidden hand” behind the campaign to discredit so-called progressive leaders in PAS such as popular deputy chief Mohamad Sabu and central committee member Dr Hatta Ramli.

“This war (campaign) is getting very messy because it is no longer between the Islamic scholars (ulamas) and progressives in PAS,” Mujahid said when met at the Penang PAS national unity bureau Chinese New Year event in Bayan Lepas last night.

“It is some other third force supporting a certain group in the party. Of course they do not want the party to move forward. They want the party to always be held back,” lamented Mujahid, who is PAS national unity bureau chief.

And this group is definitely not part of the progressives, whose vision is to initiate reforms not only in the party but nation, he noted.

“So what they (Umno) do is to destroy the unity in PAS, pick a side in whichever way, maybe even provide financial funding, to make sure that the conservatives remain in the party,” claimed the Parit Buntar parliamentarian.

“It is a very highly sophisticated game. It is not just within the party but there are people from outside who wants to see the party stay stagnant as it is not good for them if PAS moves forward,” he added.

He concedes that the recent attacks against certain pro-reform PAS leaders like Mohamad Sabu ( left ), better known as Mat Sabu, and Hatta are really structured.

Mat Sabu was recently featured in a leaked audio recording allegedly trying to topple PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Hatta also found himself in hot water when a group led by Kuantan PAS Youth chief Noorzazilafadli Ibrahim turned up at PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur on Feb 8  - the day Pakatan Rakyat leadership met after a long hiatus - accusing him of masterminding a plot to oust Hadi.

Umno eager to mend ties

Mujahid said Umno’s hand in the dirty campaign can also be seen by its interest in PAS and its eagerness to “mend ties” with the party of late.

An example of this is Umno’s decision not to contest the Chempaka seat left vacant by the death of former PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan menteri besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

Another example is the forming of a technical committee by the Umno-led federal government with the Kelantan administration to discuss the implementation of the hudud law in the state, a move lauded by the ulamas in PAS.

“They (Umno) are behaving even worse than the ulamas in PAS. Do you think they are really for the ulama leadership? I don’t think so.

"Its purely a political manoeuvre,” Mujahid said.

If it were truly interested in hudud, said Mujahid, the BN federal government would have approved the implementation of the law decades ago as it has ruled the country for 57 years, he added.

“It is so obvious when we see BN government leaders or even Unmo more excited about PAS’ coming muktamar - more excited than even the PAS members,” he jested.

Mujahid said the ultimate strategy for Umno is to turn PAS into a conservative party, as this move will inevitably disrupt the unity within Pakatan Rakyat.

Asked why were PAS leaders allowing themselves to be trapped by this strategy, Mujahid pointed to “weak spots” - hudud and the redelineation exercise by the Election Commission - where PAS is very fragile.

“The argument about redelineation is that it will increase more Malay seats. In a way, this would also benefit PAS,” Mujahid explained.

“This will lure PAS to be more lenient, for example. As it is BN does not have the two-thirds majority in Parliament and needs about eight to 10 MPs to support their (BN) proposals when it goes to vote in the august House,” he said.

“I do not think they (Umno-BN) really want redelineation or hudud but are doing it merely for the sake of their survival.”