COMMENT After Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob tactfully stepped away from taking the mantle of PAS spiritual adviser following Haron Din's passing early this week, the question of who else is fit to fill in the murshidul am’s shoes will dog the heels of the party in the days to come.

More so when the responsibility to fill the void left by Haron’s passing, as an evangelist, academician as well as a well-known figure in Islamic medicine, is seen as something that far surpasses what the present party leaders can handle.

However, the difficulty in finding a leader to fill in the big shoes of the ones that went before is nothing new in PAS.

The same conundrum hit the party when the former spiritual adviser, the late Nik Aziz Nik Mat, one of the most iconic PAS leaders in recent history, passed away on Feb 12 last year.

However, at the time the credence gap between Nik Aziz and Haron was not seen to be that wide, especially given the colourful background of the recently deceased cleric.

Things were different with Ahmad (photo), who was always in the shadow of Nik Aziz, who preceded him as Kelantan MB.

Ahmad was Nik Aziz’s deputy in Kelantan for nine years, from 2004.

Thus the image of ‘administrator’ is the one that he is often associated with, compared to the role of the spiritual leader of this 65-year-old Islamic party.

However, the question remains as to who is fit to replace Haron in the role of murshidul am. A question that even the PAS senior leadership now faces a hard time to answer.

What more, PAS today faces a distinctly more difficult challenge than it had before, as it stands virtually alone politically, its only ally the minuscule Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia, which is led by former Umno minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir.

At the same time, any new PAS spiritual adviser will have to contend with forging a new direction for the party, whether to be an Umno-friendly East Coast-based party, or rejoin the mainstream opposition, even if unofficially.

The turnabout, which occurred when the baton was passed from Nik Aziz to Haron, can only be seen as the factor that led to the new face of PAS.

Who would have thought that the party would abandon Pakatan Rakyat? Who would have thought that the PAS muktamar will be more ‘Malay’ than the general assembly of the Malay party Umno, with traditional headgear and keris all around?

None, not yet, say leaders

Meanwhile, several PAS leaders contacted yesterday seemed unable to come up with a firm answer on who is fit to fill in Haron’s shoes. Indeed, some were distressed and surprised by Ahmad’s rejection of the offered post.

PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad and deputy Dewan Ulama chief Nik Zawawi Salleh both told Malaysiakini that no names have been put forward as they waited for the party’s forthcoming Syura Council meet.

“None,” said Idris.

“Not yet,” added Zawawi curtly.

The dilemma in finding the successor to Haron’s post is made more complicated as the majority of the party’s Syura Council members are seen as being too junior to be considered for the important post.

If one were to base it on popularity and leadership potential, some names that may come to mind for the murshidul am post would include Dewan Ulama chief Mahfodz Mohamad (photo), former MP and Kedah PAS leader Taib Azamudin, and indeed, the party president Abdul Hadi Awang himself.

After all, nothing in the party’s constitution prohibits the president from being the spiritual adviser as well.

Instead, the constitution states that any of the 17 members of the Syura Council, the second highest body in the party after a full annual muktamar, can be nominated to fill the murshidul am role.

Hadi is indeed the most senior member of the body at the moment.

In PAS’ history, its fifth president, Yusuf Rawa, had once held both roles, as he was both president and spiritual adviser in the 1980s.

However, Taib may be out of the running as his health has become a matter of concern of late. This leaves Mahfodz as the only other viable candidate, as opposed to Hadi.

In the end, though, the matter of who will fill the seat of PAS spiritual adviser will ultimately need to be settled by the party and Hadi, and soon.

If Hadi can face allegations of being called “power crazy”, this might be the chance the president can use to help him unify PAS with a firmer hold on things, after the last schism which led to some members and former leaders leaving the party to join the new party Amanah, led by former PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu.

Malaysiakini was informed that the date of the next Syura Council meeting has not yet been set, though it “might be next month”.

The PAS constitution stipulates that the body must meet at least once every three months. The matter of who will to step into the empty shoes of the late Haron will probably be discussed when the council meets.

The party has no choice but to proceed with it as it cannot afford to dilly-dally. For time is not on PAS’ side, especially with a snap general election widely expected to be called early next year.