They may have lost in PAS’ 61st muktamar but they are certainly not sore losers.

Popular leaders from the party’s progressive faction have accepted their crushing defeat with open hearts and expressed hope that the new leadership will take the party to greater heights.

Salahuddin Ayub, who was defeated as vice-president, said the results showed a clear trend of what the current delegates wanted in PAS leadership.

“Therefore, I accept and respect the decision made by the delegates.

“Maybe the delegates believe my style of politics is no longer suitable  for  today’s scenario,” he said.

Commenting on the 'chai' (preferred list on who to vote) culture, Salahuddin ( photo ) denied the party elections this time around was more ‘dirty”.

“It’s not worse this time around as delegates have chosen the leaders they want. This is a democratic right in PAS,” he said.

Defeated PAS central working committee member Khalid Samad ( photo )  – when asked whether PAS would continue to remain relevant to non-Muslims now that progressives in the party were no longer around – said he believes the new leadership would still be able to maintain links with non-Muslims.

“That’s the problem for the new leadership so they have to sort it out. (But) give them a chance.

“We leave the responsibility to the new leadership and we hope and wish them the best and we hope they can take PAS to higher levels of success.

“We have done our part to bring the party to this level. We hope that it will progress even further and fulfil the wishes of the rakyat which is to bring change in the government,” he said.

'I was not boo-ed'

Dzulkefly Ahmad on the other hand pointed out that how there is never a dull moment in Malaysian politics.

“The delegates have chosen that way so be it. We will give them (the new leadership) a chance but we will see. The dynamics are very interesting,” he said.

Meanwhile, his party colleague, Mohamed Hanipa Maidin ( photo ), commenting on the incident yesterday during which he was booed while defending his stance on hudud, said he believed that he was not jeered by the delegates.

“I wasn’t booed by the delegates but by the observers. Maybe there was an Umno member there, we don’t know,” he quipped.

“We are open, everybody can criticise us,” he added.

In elections at the 61st PAS muktamar yesterday, president Abdul Hadi Awang retained his post while Mohamad Sabu lost his post as deputy president with his challenger, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man gettting a landslide win over him.

All three newly-elected PAS vice-presidents are from the ulama faction while only one 'professional' was elected to the central working committee member, Mazlan Aliman.

Seventeen others in the central working committee are from the ulama faction.