After their disastrous twin losses in the recently held double by-elections in Kerdau and Merlimau, Pakatan Rakyat is swiftly moving to address the issue of the PAS ban on the sale of lottery tickets from business premises in Kelantan, which is threatening to drive a wedge between component parties and said to be one reason for their recent electoral defeat.

The Islamic party’s leaders however were circumspect in commenting on the issue, looking to play down the ruckus raised after its Youth chief Nasaruddin Hassan said that the PAS ban may soon be practiced in other Pakatan-ruled states.

Party vice-president Mahfuz Omar was evasive when quizzed, saying, “I don’t know. I did not read Sin Chew. I will have to check.” He was referring to the Chinese newspaper Sin Chew Daily which first highlighted the matter.

NONE Fellow PAS veep Salahuddin Ayob ( right ) however dismissed Nasruddin’s statement as his personal views, while staying confident that the opposition coalition will weather the storm.

“We have faced such challenges before,” he said to reporters in Parliament today.

Salahuddin said that the best way to solve the issue would be through discussions via the weekly Pakatan leadership council meeting this Thursday.

On the other side of the ruckus is a very vocal DAP who immediately opposed any expansion of the ban without consultations.

“We are just stating our stand, it is okay to oppose (the ban),” said party vice-president Tan Kok Wai to Malaysiakini .

‘Such issues may leave Pakatan vulnerable’

He warned that such issues, if left unsolved, may leave Pakatan vulnerable.

tan kok wai dap pc 010808 01 “BN will use the issue to attack us,” warned Tan ( left ).

His warning came in the footsteps of statements from MCA central committee member Ti Lian Ker, who threatened legal action against Kelantan for imposing the ban.

The issue also made the rounds in the double by-elections, which may have contributed to Pakatan’s losses.

Tan also agreed with Salahuddin that the best place to solve the problem will be the Pakatan leadership council meeting.

Agreeing with both Tan and Salahuddin, DAP Youth head Anthony Loke said that all policies should be discussed beforehand by the Pakatan leadership.

“Any new policies must be discussed by the Pakatan leadership first before it is announced in the media,” Loke told Malaysiakini in Parliament today.

Loke had openly criticised the statement by Nasaruddin calling for the betting ban policy to be expanded to other Pakatan states.

Today, Sin Chew Daily front-paged Loke blaming the ban as being among the causes of Pakatan’s losses in Merlimau and Kerdau.