PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang, today refuted media reports of the existence of 'Erdogans' in his party.

"The media has reported that the top posts in PAS has fallen to the Erdogans. There are no Erdogans. This is not Turkey! If at all, this is Abdul Hadi and Nik Aziz (team)!" he spiritedly said.

The group, named after Turkish Premier Racheed Tayyib Erdogan, was said to be made up of 'progressive' PAS members who are mostly professionals close to Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and favours closer ties with Pakatan Rakyat.

pas muktamar 130610 abdul hadi awang They were thus named because their style was said to mirror the the Turkish premier's progressive stance. Incidentally he is also a close confidant of Anwar.

Hadi ( left ) stressed that PAS is an Islamic party, unlike like the AK party led by Erdogan which is purely secular.

"They have no Islamic party in Turkey. It is illegal over there."

Though this is understandable, Abdul Hadi opined, as the Turks have to follow orders from the West and could only remain in power as long as they maintain their secular governance.

He quoted a report on the Rand Corporation website, that said it was okay to allow Muslims to be involved in politics, as long as there is no Syariah law and it was okay to allow Muslims to rule as long as there is no Islamic state.

Abdul Hadi stressed that this is not how things are in PAS which is dedicated to spreading the precepts and rule of Islam.

Two factions

The Erdogan group is said to be the second force in PAS internal politics with the conservatives and Islamic scholars dubbed the Ulama faction, forming the first.

However such factionalism was said to have been watered down in the current party election which saw Abdul Hadi re-elected, though his other Ulama allies fell to their Erdogan challengers.

Pundits believe though that the current election does not have anything to do with the Erdogans vs Ulama dynamic, but is more a battle of personalities.

The Islamic party also tried hard to shush rumours of the existence of a 'Unity' government faction within it that favours forming close ties with Umno.

In the weeks leading up to 57th Muktamar and during it, similar statements were made denying that close ties with Umno were on the cards, painstakingly pointing out that Umno and PAS are very different in the way they interpret Islam and its teachings, and far from being able to work together despite the old adage that politics makes for strange bedfellows.

Prepare for general election

Hadi Awang has also called on all party leaders and members to prepare for the next general election according to a Bernama report.

In his adjournment speech at the party's 57th general assembly here today, he said they should translate his policy speech and the points raised in the ensuing debate into action.

"Everybody must keep abreast of current issues so that they could deal with them effectively and explain such matters to the voters," he said.

He said those who aspired to be chosen as electoral candidates should prepare themselves adequately.

Abdul Hadi said he was happy with the party's new leadership line-up and that the delegates had made smart decisions.

The PAS president said the line-up included doctors, engineers,former lecturers, social activists, a lawyer, as well as those with religious studies qualifications.

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