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Former PAS Perak menteri besar Nizar Jamaluddin has struck back at his party chief for asking members to choose between “DAP sympathisers” and party loyalists, asking if they are being asked to choose “Umno puppets” instead.

 

“Umno is now at its weakest when (former PM) Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, as well as the PM’s brother, has been criticising Najib Razak.

 

“However, there are still those who would call for Najib to stay,” said Nizar, alluding to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s call for Najib not to step down amidst Mahathir’s calls to do so.

 

“If that is the case, I could say, do we want a president who is a puppet of DAP or a puppet of Umno?” said Nizar to applause from the audience at a forum last night at the Kuala Lumpur Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) in the capital city.

 

Warring factions

Yesterday Hadi drew a line between the two warring factions in the party calling one party loyalists, and the other “DAP sympathisers”, asking party members to choose.

The lead up to this year's party leadership elections has seen the fiercest and perhaps ugliest infighting between the conservative ulama faction and the party's progressives in years.

The latter, who have been vocal in their support for the Pakatan Rakyat coalition with DAP and PKR, has been the target of a smear campaign that saw them called traitors, lackeys and parasites, for their allegiance to the opposition coalition, and for criticising party leaders.

Nizar who is also a former Perak menteri besar asked PAS members to rally behind Ahmad Awang ( photo ), who he said has more credibility than Hadi as a leader and ulama (religious leader).

 

"Hadi can speak Arabic, Ahmad too. But Ahmad can converse in English, while Hadi can't. We need leaders who are respected by the party and country. And with the new leadership who will celebrate Pakatan, we will destroy the myth that only Umno can lead the Malays," he said.

 

PAS party polls have always centred around two big factions, the ulama and the professionals or 'Erdogans'.

 

Nizar who is standing to retain his central working committee seat, lost his Kampar division chief post last month. He claimed it was the result of "party insiders" who slandered him worse than Umno did during the general election.

 

He said he was called "anti-ulama" as he was seen very critical of PAS current leadership.

 

"Is it true that the professionals wanted to topple the ulama even when I myself thought that without the ulama to counter the problems brought by Umno, PAS would fail.

 

"The real ulama can save the party as they have knowledge and wisdom to do so. Today I was accused to be anti-ulama and trying to topple the president.

"But in the meetings, if I criticise, it does not mean I do not love the person, I just love the party more," he said.

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