The home ministry today called up two top PAS leaders for questioning over the publication of the party’s party organ Harakah despite it having an expired publication licence.

The duo are PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali and central committee member Kamarudin Jaffar. They were called up in their capacities as Harakah board member and managing director respectively respectively.

According to a home ministry statement, the duo met Home Ministry secretary-general Mahmood Adam this afternoon.

The statement added that explanations were sought over the publication of the July 12-15 edition of Harakah , despite the fact that its publishing permit had expired on July 7.

“The home ministry views seriously the publishing and distribution of Harakah dated July 12-15,” read the statement.

Previously, Harakah was issued a show-cause letter by the home ministry for failing to submit eight copies of its publication for the ministry’s scrutiny.

Possible follow-up meeting

The letter also sought answers as to why the publication was allegedly sold to non-PAS members and was freely available at the newsstands.

Following this, Harakah replied within the seven-day deadline stipulated by the home ministry.

PAS’ allies PKR and DAP are also facing problems with the home ministry. PKR’s mouthpiece Suara Keadilan has since been suspended indefinitely while DAP’s Rocket is staring at the possibility of suspension.

When contacted, Kamarudin said he and Mustafa were asked to be present at the home ministry headquarters in Putrajaya to provide further explanation over their reply to the show cause letter.

“There is no decision (on Harakah’s status),” he said, adding that he expects another meeting with Mahmood was expected.