PAS claws at academic: Teresa potential 'tiger', not Akmal or us

PAS has sunk its claws into academic Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi over his feline threat level assessment of Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh and PAS, where he likened the former to a kitten and the latter to a tiger.

However, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan said based on this “kitten-tiger logic”, the individual with the most potential to morph into a large striped predator was DAP vice-president Teresa Kok.

“Not Akmal and surely not PAS, which from the onset reminded (all quarters) about the possible negative implications of failing to control emotions in this issue (mandatory halal certification proposal),” he added.

Takiyuddin also claimed that by focusing on Akmal’s remarks against Kok, Tajuddin appeared to “submerge” Kok’s statements about the halal certification, which courted the backlash. 

As for the academic claiming that PAS was more dangerous to the nation, the Kota Bharu MP described this analysis as “shallow” and advised the professor of architecture to stick to his field of expertise.

‘Amateur’

Takiyuddin said he was disappointed with the analysis because he expected something with more “credibility and quality”, but Tajuddin’s conclusions were akin to the “ranting of an obsessed amateur political commentator”.

He accused Tajuddin of attempting to conceal the impact of the spat between Akmal and Kok by including PAS in his narrative.

“His move to divert focus from the real problem by turning an unrelated party into a scapegoat has backfired since the conflict between the two individuals evolved into a squabble between Umno and DAP, especially after the Mahkota by-election to the point it involved other leaders from Harapan.

“When other analysts are talking about the repercussions of this disagreement on the stability of the government, Tajuddin was more interested in continuing the ‘Green Wave’ fallacy created by former DAP leader Lim Kit Siang to spook the non-Malay voters and at the same time ignore bigger and more important issues for the people and nation’s wellbeing,” he added.

‘Weak and stale’ examples

Takiyuddin claimed the academic had cited examples that were “weak and stale” to support his argument, and this would not “pass the standard of a credible analysis”.

On the issue of a non-Muslim woman being slapped with a compound over her dressing in Kelantan last year, he noted that Tajuddin referred to a statement by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

Claiming that Hadi was deliberately misquoted to tarnish the party, he also chided the academic for ignoring DAP leader and minister Nga Kor Ming, who “clearly defended the wrongdoer by asking the local council to cancel the compound and ignoring the laws in place”.

“By hiding behind the argument of freedom enshrined in the Federal Constitution, racial harmony and non-Muslim rights, the minister not only overstepped his duties but also appeared to want the laws to be applied selectively according to race and religion.

“Using the ‘kitten-tiger’ logic again, which statement is more dangerous to the people? The PAS president’s statement, which was (allegedly) misquoted, or the minister’s statement, which appeared in almost all the major media?” he asked.

‘Ignoring injustice’

Takiyuddin also commented on Tajuddin touching on Perikatan Nasional lawmakers reciting the Qunut Nazilah in Parliament following the six-month suspension imposed on one of the opposition coalition’s lawmakers.

“It is clear that Tajuddin wants the people to ignore the injustice and the denial of the MP’s democratic rights by raising something trivial which was emotive just to tarnish PAS.

“Based on these examples, it is clear that Tajuddin pays more attention to trivial and insignificant matters just to create a negative perception of PAS but ignores the major and fundamental issues,” he added.

Last week, Tajuddin told Malaysiakini that PAS could tear the nation apart with its brand of political Islam, which does not distinguish the party from the religion and places its leaders on a pedestal beyond reproach.

He was commenting on PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, who said that although the Islamist party disagreed with Kok on the halal certification issue, it would not resort to disparagement.

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