The assault on PAS central committee member Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad early this morning has prompted one his comrades to urge party president Abdul Hadi Awang to put a stop to growing animosity within the party.

Vocal central committee member Mujahid Yusof Rawa this afternoon called on Hadi to "spontaneously, and in a swift manner," issue a statement to stop what Mujahid described as "violence, hatred and animosity" among party members ahead of the PAS general assembly in June.

"The president must make a strong statement that everyone should focus on unity of the party. This should be foremost. No violence should ever be condoned," Mujahid told Malaysiakini in a telephone interview.

"Whether the episode, where Dzulkefly was attacked after attending dawn prayers at a mosque in Kuala Selangor, was genuinely motivated by PAS members or manufactured by certain quarters outside the party, the president must respond swiftly," he added.

"The most important thing is the president must respond swiftly to forge party unity, to create a more democratic and matured environment and not one of hatred and hostility," he stressed.

Mujahid insisted that Hadi’s response was crucial to make sure the party would not deteriorate further and not to expose other leaders or members to similar danger.

"It seems to me, this war and tussle have become violent.

"If it were just a family quarrel within the party, things would not have gone to this stage," he added.

'Attacker possibly PAS member with hatred'

Mujahid does not rule out the possibility that the attacker was a PAS member who was instilled with hatred towards certain leaders as a result of the "labelling and attack" on certain individuals in the party.

This week has seen PAS central committee member Nik Abduh Nik Mat accusing some leaders of being lackeys (barua) of Pakatan Rakyat, and trying to cause friction between Hadi and those who supported his father, the late spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

Leaders in PAS seen as “progressive”, such as deputy president Mohamad Sabu and central committee member Dr Hatta Ramli, are facing investigations over allegations of trying to topple Hadi ahead of the party general assembly or muktamar.

Campaigns among the progressives such as Mujahid himself and the conservatives - the powerful Islamic scholars or ulama - have been heating up as the delegates prepare for the biennial leadership elections at this muktamar.

Hadi, who has held the presidency of PAS since 2002, may not face a direct challenge for his post this year as well, but there may be efforts to undermine his credibility by those who feel he is not a team player in Pakatan, in which PAS is allied with DAP and PKR.

Recently, Mujahid had also warned that there may be a hidden hand in the likes of the arch rival Umno, which has been accused of supporting certain quarters in PAS to create factions within the party.

Mujahid went on to say that the attack on his colleague Dzulkefly ( right ) was not an arbitrary act.

"There is a motivating factor that leads to such an incident. It did not just happen like that," he said.

"It's not a criminal case as there was no robbery, his wallet was not taken, as it was just intended to hurt him, perhaps to give him some kind of a ‘signal’.

"The culture of labelling people, instigating others and creating factions in the party will lead to hatred and animosity," he added.