PAS 'political prostitute': Hadi unfazed, but Tuan Ibrahim to write letter

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang was unfazed by Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah calling his party a "political prostitute".

However, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the remarks were uncalled for and will write to the Umno veteran to express the party's dissatisfaction.

"We (PAS and Umno) have good relations in Muafakat Nasional and we have a platform to discuss anything we do not agree with.

"The Muafakat meeting also continues to run once every two weeks and there are no issues. Statements like this are not helpful and should not be made by any party,” Tuan Ibrahim was quoted as saying by Bernama.

Separately, Hadi told reporters in Terengganu that he would let the people judge whether the label was excessive.

"It is up to the people to decide," he told reporters in Terengganu.

A video of Hadi's exchange with the press was uploaded to his Facebook page.

In an interview published Friday, Tengku Razaleigh branded PAS a "political prostitute" that must be defeated in the coming 15th general election. 

Hadi said name-calling would not hinder PAS' efforts.

"Let people call us names, regardless of what they say we continue with our work. We want to unite the ummah, the Muslims, and the people.

"We want to unite them, and reject extremists. Uniting the ummah doesn't just mean PAS and Umno, but everyone," he said.

Tengku Razaleigh, who is Gua Musang MP, justified his remarks about PAS with his prior political experience with them.

"PAS is like a prostitute - going back and forth between DAP and Semangat 46," the former Semangat 46 president said in reference to the short-lived party he helmed in the late 1980s before returning to Umno's fold in 1996.

Tengku Razaleigh founded Semangat 46 after the Umno 1988 constitutional crisis sparked by his failed bid to challenge former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's faction for control of the party.

At the time, he and his team of ousted Umno leaders in Semangat 46 had forged an alliance with PAS under the Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah banner for the 1990 general election.

At present, PAS is a member of the Perikatan Nasional coalition headed by Bersatu.

It is also allied with Umno through Muafakat.

However, Bersatu and Umno are set to clash at the next election, and PAS has thus far refused to pick a side.

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