PAS central committee member Dzulkefly Ahmad said there has been a decline in Malay votes by two percent to PAS and seven percent to PKR in the last general election.

NONE Dzulkefly ( right ) said the only increase in Malay votes was recorded by the DAP.

“Overall, PAS received 40 percent of Malay support and this has to be increased up to 44 percent  or more if we are to win more seats,” he said in tabling the post-mortem report on the 13th general election.

However, he pointed out that it was only in certain areas that there was a decline in Malay support, while Malay support for PAS in Johor and Terengganu, for example, had increased.

Citing an independent study by Merdeka Centre, Dzulkefly said the Malay outlook for PAS is still good.

NONE He pointed out that BN received a majority of its support from the rural areas where it won 121 out of 133 seats.

Ironically, Dzulkefly who is former Kuala Selangor MP, said 70 percent of the seats in the last general election comprise rural areas that only represents 30 percent of the population, showing the uneven distribution of votes by the Election Commission.

The PAS central committee member said following this, the party has to work harder in attracting Malay votes, especially the younger generation, the lower income earning RM4,000 and below and also women.

Statistically, support of Malay females only account for 30 to 35 percent, and the support of younger Malays for PAS which is 45 to 46 percent, and both have to be increased if the party is to perform better, he said.

'Stop going to Utusan'

Meanwhile newly-appointed PAS vice-president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man urged party members and leaders not to speak to Umno-owned daily Utusan Malaysia , which he feared may twist the facts.

Some leaders, Tuan Ibrahim said, seems to trust Utusan Malaysia more and hence give their comments to such newspapers.

utusan said pas dimalukan 190112 “Why should we trust those media? We should not be making statements to the media that is opposing us. Why should we fall into the trap? This is dangerous. This is what we hope (to avoid), insya'allah .”

He also urged the media not to label PAS members as belonging to this group or that group, and that members should work as one.

His views on not falling for the mainstream media's tricks is also shared by another vice-president Husam Musa, who said Utusan had once reported that the so-called 'Erdogan faction' wanted to topple the president.

NONE “They also reported that PAS is a tool for PKR and DAP. All this is untrue as we have our goals to achieve,” he said.

Husam ( left ) said like any other members he also aspires to see Abdul Hadi become the prime minister one day when Pakatan defeats Umno and BN.

He pledged that he has full trust in Abdul Hadi's leadership capabilities.

PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu in his turn said the party will be concentrating its efforts on Johor for the 14th general election.

“We have managed to capture four seats in Johor, and if we concentrate our efforts in Johor which is Umno's nerve centre, then we will be able to end Umno's dominance,” he said.