After rocky seven years in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, PAS has finally called off its relationship with DAP. Or has it?

Several analysts believe that the best way to describe the PAS relationship with Pakatan would be to borrow Facebook parlance, is "It's complicated".

For starters, the progressive elements within PAS - once strong advocates of Pakatan - are now the ones who are demanding that the party really cuts ties with DAP.

Their reason is simple: Now that the the muktamar, the party's highest decision making body, has decided to say goodbye to DAP, PAS must follow through or risk looking like a hypocrite.

Former deputy president Mohamad Sabu and former central committee member Mujahid Yusof Rawa led the way by quitting from their government agency and government-linked company (GLC) positions in Penang.

So what's there to gain, politically, from quitting cushy government jobs?

An easy way out

"They are trying to shame some people and indirectly undermine the ulama leadership," said former Malaysiakini chief editor Fathi Aris Omar, who has been a fervent PAS observer for several decades.

"But the problem is: These people have no shame."

Fathi predicts that PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's backers are not likely to let go of their positions in the Penang and Selangor governments, regardless of the muktamar decision to break ties with DAP.

Thus, one way out of this mess would be for smart manoeuvring by the syura council.

"The syura council can say, ‘PAS will not be acting in the interest of Muslims by vacating the positions’. So unless they are asked to do so, there is no need to resign," said Fathi ( photo ).

The DAP-led Penang government has allocated about 1,000 village committee positions for PAS and dozens of other positions in GLCs, government agencies and local government councils.

Penang PAS head Mohd Salleh Man alone draws salaries as the head of two agencies and is the board member in two companies.

In Selangor, PAS is estimated to hold about 5,000 positions - from village committee positions to local council membership to executive positions in GLCs.

'They'll get over it in two weeks'

Middle East politics and Islamic movement expert Maszlee Malik also predicts that Hadi's backers are not likely to relinquish their government positions.

"They should give up their posts. They will stick with their posts because of the salary. They are eating their humble pie now.

"It is their turn to walk the talk and prove to the world that they are a bunch of honourable people with principles... or the rakyat and voters will judge them otherwise," said Maszlee ( photo ) , who is an assistant professor with the International Islamic University.

Ironically, the progressive elements within PAS, who have been accused of undermining the "purity" of the PAS struggle, are the ones who are teaching Hadi's backers the meaning of "integrity" by quitting, Maszlee added.

Subky Latiff, a veteran contributor to the PAS mouthpiece Harakah, pointed out that based on convention, the syura council has the authority to overrule a decision made by the muktamar.

"They can say we uphold what Hadi said in his closing speech and want to maintain PAS' position in Pakatan.

"Of course this will be embarrassing, but it will only last two weeks. After that, they can be good with DAP again," Subky said.