The nonchalant attitude of PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali in saying that the non-attendance of the Islamic party president, Abdul Hadi Awang, at Pakatan Rakyat meetings is a trivial matter is disappointing, the DAP says.

It is upsetting to know that matters involving the continuity and survival of Pakatan Rakyat are dismissed as minor and trivial, DAP national organisational secretary Anthony Loke Siew Fook said today.

“The DAP leadership is extremely disappointed and upset with PAS' views and attitude on the matter.

“Pakatan is unable to move forward if the issue of non-attendance and non-compliance is not taken seriously,” Loke said in a statement.

Referring to DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng's call to Hadi yesterday to attend the Pakatan leadership council meetings, Loke also highlighted the more serious breach of non-compliance with decisions made at the meetings.

Speaking at a DAP fundraising event, Lim said since Hadi is the ultimate decision-maker in PAS, Pakatan could not make resolutions with only his lieutenants present at the leadership meetings.

“How can Pakatan effectively function if unanimous decisions reached in meetings can be denied unilaterally by Hadi because he is not present at the meetings?” Loke asked.

DAP representatives in the Pakatan leadership council, he said, are granted full mandate and confidence by the DAP central executive committee to make decisions on behalf of the party.

Hence, if DAP leaders are not able to attend a meeting, the DAP representative attending is given the full power to make decisions, Loke ( left ) said.

“The question is, are PAS representatives given similar authority to make decisions in the absence of the president?” he asked.

Pakatan, Loke reiterated, will not be able to function if there is no full commitment from all parties in the coalition to comply with and adhere to the principles, policies and decisions made by the coalition.