PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu is mulling suing the national newswire service and two Malay dailies for reporting that he had mocked party president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Mohamad said his speech in Tumpat, Kelantan, last Friday had been ‘twisted’ to the extent of causing “unease among party members, tarnishing my image and causing disharmony in the party”.

The media outlets he intends to sue are Bernama , Sinar Harian and Utusan Malaysia , the latter two of which had featured reports on his speech on their frontpages yesterday.

“I will discuss this with my lawyer. If there is a case, legal action will be taken. The writings are malicious towards me and the party,” Mohamad, who is widely known as Mat Sabu, told Malaysiakini when met in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.

Bernama reported last Saturday that the leadership crisis in PAS was becoming worse as the party elections approached, with Mat Sabu becoming more vocal about Hadi’s leadership.

The report said Mat Sabu had questioned Hadi ( photo ) for failing to win Terengganu in the last two general elections and for supposedly wanting PAS to leave Pakatan Rakyat.

Mat Sabu challenged all three media outlets to publish the full transcript of this speech.

“The people have heard my speech and it is nothing new. I have spoken at a convention in Perak on the same issue as well,” he said.

At the same time, Mat Sabu also heaped praises on past PAS leaders, such as its late president Fadzil Noor and its late spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, for being able to captivate the people through lectures and ceramah sessions.

Political coaltions helped PAS win

However when the elections came, both of them failed to win over Kedah and Kelantan and PAS had to form political coalitions.

He said PAS under Nik Aziz’s leadership was able to control the Kelantan government by aligning with Semangat 46 and winning the 1990 general election, after a split in Umno.

The party had previously failed to win Kelantan in the general elections of 1978, 1982 and 1986.

Likewise, Mat Sabu said, Kedah PAS was able to wrest control of the state in 2008 by forming alliances and through a rise in non-Muslim support for the party.

Prior to that, the party was only able to win three seats in the state, in 1986.

“If I had wanted to mock, I would have mocked Fadzil Noor and Nik Aziz as well. Now that is mocking.

“I mean that what I have been stressing, tens of times in my speech, is that PAS cannot stand alone to take control of states,” Mat Sabu added.