Barisan Nasional (BN) should stop harbouring hopes that PAS state representatives in Kelantan will accept the former's invitation to cross over to enable the ruling coalition to form the state government, PAS state executive councillor member Husam Musa said.

"BN and Umno think that we (PAS leaders) are like cattle that can be bought easily with money. That is why they continue to spread rumours among the Kelantan people that some of us will accept their offer," he told malaysiakini when contacted today.

"They refuse to accept the fact that the people have chosen PAS to administer the state and that they have lost. Just to feel good about themselves, they want to believe that we would be willing to betray our party and the people."

Husam was referring to a statement yesterday by Kelantan Umno state liaison chief Mustapa Mohamed who said that the possibility of PAS assemblypersons accepting Umno's cross-over offer was promising.

The offer was made by Bachok MP Awang Adek Husin who issued an open invitation to PAS assemblypersons in Kelantan to join the BN to allow Umno to form the state government.

PAS has formed the Kelantan state government after winning 24 of the 45 state seats contested in the 11th general election on March 21. BN won 21 state seats, needing only two more to form the state government with a simple majority of 23 seats.

Political unrest

Husam, who is also PAS Kelantan deputy commissioner III, said if BN leaders were sincere in serving the people, they should accept the invitation made by Kelantan Mentri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat for an open discussion.

"The mentri besar is willing to hear from Mustapa and Awang Adek. If they are really keen to help improve the state's development, we can discuss how to effectively administer the state. Please be sincere ... do you want power or do you want to serve the people?" said Husam.

Husam also expressed his doubts that the people would accept a BN state government in the event that the latter managed to lure one of PAS' 23 assemblypersons.

"If they manage to get two PAS assemblypersons to cross over through questionable means, how confident are they that the people would accept it? The people in Kelantan are unique as they are very expressive in voicing their discontent," he said.

"Such a situation may lead to political unrest and a lot more people will suffer then. Umno's image will be damaged beyond repair," warned Husam.

Instead of trying to wrest power from PAS through such 'backdoor tactics,' he urged BN state assemblypersons to take heed of their leaders' call to stop politicking and concentrate on serving their respective constituencies.

"Those elected should openly state how they intend to improve their respective constituency and prove their worth," added Husam.

Lost confidence

Meanwhile, PAS' Panchor state assemblyperson Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said that by making the cross-over offer, BN was in short asking PAS leaders to betray the people of Kelantan who had made their choice known through the ballot box.

"The offer shows their insincerity to the people. Of course, they claim that the offer it has no financial gain attached to it, but based on their track record and our experience, we seriously doubt this claim," he said.

"If they are really sincere, they should cooperate with us in providing the best for the people. That is the way it should be," said Nik Mohd Amar.

The two PAS leaders dismissed BN claims it would make a better state government as compared to PAS.

"Don't underestimate our strength. I must stress that a good government can only be attained if its leaders are free of corruption and are transparent.

"PAS has leaders like this. I don't think Umno can make the same claim given their track record," said Husam.

He said the people of Kelantan have lost confidence in the BN following the latter's failure to bring about any improvements to the state during its 12-year reign before PAS took over in 1990.

Poverty reduced

"What did BN leaders do during those 12 years? They did very little during that time and failed to impress the people. I daresay that PAS has now improved the state's administration fairly well when compared to BN," he said.

Nik Mohd Amar pointed out that it was PAS that had improved the Kelantan people's social economic status when it took over the state's administration 14 years ago.

"We managed to reduce the percentage of hard core poor families from 22 percent to 12.9 percent.

"This proves that we are better at management than them because despite the little resources that we have, we have manage to battle poverty with reasonable success," he said.