Only "fools" can be tricked by the devil, especially "the devil you know", PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said today.

In an obvious reference to former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's statement equating Umno and BN to "the devil you know", he said Prophet Muhammad had also warned that those who strayed away from the congregation were easy "prey" for the devil.

"The prophet said, 'The devil is like the wolf that goes after the lone sheep.' So, it is foolish to be tricked by the devil you know," Hadi said.

He added that PAS stayed true to the belief that "politics is the biggest responsibility (amanah) given by Allah" and this responsibility should not be fulfilled in isolation.

"Do so in a congregation, not alone or in isolation," he said in a statement.

NONE However, Hadi did not mention former PAS deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, whose statements of late have put him at odds with other party leaders.

Nasharuddin ( right ) had questioned PAS' cooperation with DAP, and recently accused the DAP of trying to establish a Christian state.

Speaking at a conference last weekend, Nasharuddin said Islam never gained victory with the help of non-Muslims.

This led to vice-president Salahuddin Ayub and central committee member Abdul Khalid Samad calling a press conference to declare the Bachok MP's statements as personal view that have nothing to do with PAS.

Successful political alliances

In a seeming response to this, Hadi in the same statement said that PAS in its 61-year history has forged successful political alliances that are consistent with syariah principles.

He said that this was based on the prophet's teachings that one must unite, even with non-Muslims, to fight against cruelty.

NONE Hadi said that even PAS' past alliance with Umno in Barisan Nasional "was not wasteful", even though the Islamic party was at times "kicked around and looked down upon".

"PAS's cooperation with the BN in the early 1970s, too, was successful as it ended with Umno winning Kelantan after PAS was kicked out," he said.

Similarly, he said, cooperation with Semangat 46 and DAP in the 1980s led to the recapture of Kelantan while Barisan Alternatif led to the party's victory in Terengganu in 1999.

"However, it was only for one term as the we were felled in a cruel manner," he said.

In 2008, he pointed out, tahaluf siyasi (political cooperation) also led to the takeover of Perak, Selangor, Kedah and Selangor - with PAS later leading three states.

" Tahaluf siyasi lately has succeeded in breaking barriers that had stopped non-Muslims from understanding Islam," he said.

"To PAS sympathisers, I urge you to trust us based on these experiences and to relinquish the misguided faith that Umno is an almighty party."

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