PAS Kelantan's decision to sideline credible leaders and appoint an unknown religious scholar Ahmad Yakus as deputy menteri besar has irked certain quarters, said party insiders today.

The appointment led to disgruntlement among those who favoured younger leaders such as Husam Musa ( photo ) and Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah for the post in line with the leadership's pledge to revise the administration.

The duo were tipped to fill in senior positions in the state after they were fielded in state seats in the recently concluded general election. Husam won in Kijang while Nik Mohd took the Panchor seat.

"The idea was to put either Nik Mohd or Husam as deputy mentri besar but somehow the plan changed at the last minute. It is as if PAS Kelantan is backing out from its promise to make changes in its leadership.

"Of course, we have nothing against Ustaz Ahmad but he is hardly what we had in mind when the state said they wanted to make changes," said a source on condition of anonymity.

Nik Aziz 'influenced'

While refusing to disclose any names, the source added that an "influential state leader" had convinced Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat to appoint Ahmad.

"He (the state leader) and Tok Guru (Nik Aziz) go back a long way and the two are quite close. He is very dedicated to the party but he doesn't seem to favour changes. He has a lot of say in the state administration...the election candidate line-up was mostly his work," he said.

He added that the leader favoured unsuitable candidates instead of serious politicians and the party had been criticised for fielding such people.

The source stressed that it was foolish for the leadership to make such a decision - the appointment of Ahmad - at this crucial period since the party will face a strong opposition in the form of Barisan Nasional, which won 21 of the 45 state seats.

The 54-year-old Al-Azhar University graduate was sworn in as deputy menteri besar on March 23. Prior to his appointment, the Pasir Pekan state assembly representative was PAS Tumpat deputy division chief.

Eleven exco members were also sworn in, which included several new faces. Husam and Nik Mohd among them.

Another insider said the state leadership was aware of the need for changes and this was reflected by the 'abolishment' of the Dewan Harian (standing committee) to make way for new blood.

However, the menteri besar's political secretary Anwal Bakri Haron said the Dewan Harian had been merely 'suspended' and this was a normal development following a general election.

"The suspension takes place after every election where the party will start afresh and give a new mandate to the new team. Whether anyone would be replaced depends on the outcome of the next meeting this Saturday," he explained.

He also said it was unfair to accuse PAS Kelantan of turning its back on changes when the exco line-up was "full of vibrant young leaders".

"We have Husam an economist, Nik Mohd Amar ( photo ) a charismatic religious speaker, Takiyudin Hassan a lawyer, Abdul Fatah Mahmood a successful optometrist, Dr Nik Mazian Nik Mohamad a surgeon and Zulkifli Mamat a trained accountant. To say that we don't want change is totally misleading," he said.

He also dismissed the claim that the menteri besar was being influenced by a senior state leader.

"Tok Guru (Nik Aziz) has been in politics since 1967. Don't underrate his reading in politics. He is not the type to make hasty decisions. He considers many things before making a final call," he said.

Don't speculate

Meanwhile, PAS state secretary liason Wan Ismail Wan Jusoh said the new exco line-up was the best thus far and urged others not to speculate on the appointments.

"People just speculate when several parliamentarians were pulled in to stand in state seats. They claimed so and so would be the next mentri besar. We don't feed on speculations. Further, no party officials had made any statement on this matter," he added.

When pointed out that those who speculated included party leaders, he replied: "Yes but at what level? It was not Tok Guru... statements given by those below my level is unreliable."

Commenting on the issue, one of Nik Aziz's aides claimed that the new deputy mentri besar was merely "standing in" while younger leaders were groomed.

"Yes, we want changes but we do not want to rock the boat too much. These young turks are still in their early 40s, so we think they need time to learn the ropes," he said.

Political analyst Ahmad Lutfi Othman said while many were taken aback by Ahmad's appointment, he felt the issue would not hamper the party from making positive changes in Kelantan.

"PAS has a unique tradition where its leaders, unlike those in Umno, are not possessive of their respective jurisdictions. I think Ahmad would have no problem if his responsibilities are shared by experienced exco members. They all must work with him," he said.

He said the party must be at its best in the next five years to ensure that Kelantan does not fall to the BN. PAS has been ruling Kelantan since 1990.