COMMENT Abdul Hadi Awang, the leader of PAS and the so-called ‘fearless Islamic firebrand’ is, after all, a plain racist.

He is opposed to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) not because of its dire economic and financial implications that will impinge on the sovereignty of Malaysia, but rather because he thinks that the TPPA will only benefit the Chinese business community in Malaysia.

He also believes that DAP is supporting the TPPA because it favours the Chinese Malaysian community, and that Malays will lose out in the game of economic competition.

Hadi - by saying that DAP favours the TPPA - has betrayed his own ignorance of the vast financial implications of its implementation in Malaysia.

DAP had made it known on several occasions that it opposes the TPPA and there are no two ways about it.

Some might have lamented the fact of DAP's "feeble" response to the anti-TPPA protest today, but surely they cannot miss the point of having a protest on the day before the Thaipusam festival? We don't expect Hadi to understand about Thaipusam, let alone to have some respect for the Hindus in the country.

Hadi is against the TPPA simply on the grounds that DAP is supporting it - nothing can be further from the actual truth.

This, among other things, reveals the true nature and character of Hadi, supposedly the leader of a major political party in the country. A religious scholar who envisions a future Islamic society for Malaysia simply does not have the ability to distinguish between fact and fiction.

Other than opposing DAP, Hadi does not think that the TPPA might have serious economic and political implications for Malaysia.

Those who are opposing the TPPA are fearful that Malaysia's political sovereignty might be seriously compromised, that the rights of workers and trade unions could be negatively affected, foreign companies would easily dominate and manipulate not only the government but local companies too, and the agreement could seriously affect the functioning of the agricultural and innovation sectors of the country.

Why silent on Umno?

Umno - Hadi’s newfound friend - is the main architect of embracing the TPPA, but Hadi is silent on this matter. Is he afraid that if he criticises Umno, PAS might be deprived of a racist partner? But why pick on DAP when the party has already distanced itself from the TPPA?

Can we conclude that PAS under Hadi is a racist and bigoted party that opposes a major trade pact on purely racial and religious grounds? For this, Hadi should be "commended" for filling an important lacuna on research and findings of the TPPA’s impact.

PAS' opposition to the TPPA will go down in history as the first notorious move to give a racial and religious slant to the agreement.

No wonder that those holding positions of power and influence in the West think that Malaysians are fools who are ready to embrace anything simply because they lack the intellectual power to distinguish what is good and bad for the country.

PAS under Hadi's leadership has lost its mandate to speak on what is good or bad for the country. PAS prides itself as a pious and moral Islamic party, but regrettably it has nothing to match by way of deeds. Other than advancing the rhetoric of hudud, it is poor in governance and administration; just examine the way it has governed Kelantan, its non-performance is glaring!

If PAS can go the extent of supporting the corrupt moves of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak - especially on the money that went into his bank accounts - then the party, sorry to say, has lost its mandate to represent Muslims in the country. Today it has become a mere third-rate appendage component to the greed and lust of Umno.

It is not too late for other organisations and political parties to reconsider whether the crusade against the TPPA can be sustained by allowing PAS to participate in the rally when its actual diabolical intentions are laid bare.

Even if DAP cannot bring the desired number of participants to the protest today, the fact remains that the party will not forsake its obligations to Malaysians regardless of their background.

DAP will stand firm in opposing the TPPA!

P RAMASASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the state assemblyperson for Perai.