THE strained ties between PKR and PAS were highlighted again as a member of the Islamist party’s Ulama wing castigated Selangor Menteri Besar Azmin Ali for insulting the ulama (Muslim scholars).

Dewan Ulama member Bakri Nikmat also demanded that the Islamist party take a clear stand on PKR, whose leaders have criticised PAS.

“We hope our party elders will give us some clear direction when another party, who is supposedly our friend, insults our leaders, who
slighted our Tok Guru,” said Bakri during a debate at the Dewan Ulama assembly today.

“Menteri Besar Azmin Ali, please do not ever run your mouth off again and insult the ulama.

“I ask our party elders to make a stern decision on this issue,” said Bakri, referring to Azmin’s comments late last year which tested the already fragile ties between the two parties.

The relationship between PAS and PKR has been awkward since mid-2015, when PAS broke all ties with DAP after a public spat over shariah law. All three were members of the now defunct opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat.

The Islamist party does not have official ties with Pakatan Harapan (PH) except through PKR, which is a member of the coalition, along with DAP and Amanah.

PAS is part of the PH Selangor government even though it says it does not work with DAP, which also has representatives in the state administration.

Last month, Azmin posted a sarcastic tweet aimed at an unnamed “tok lebai” (slang for ulama) who could not win party elections in his own area but had ambitions to take over Selangor.

Observers believe Azmin was referring to outgoing PAS Youth chief Nik Abduh Nik Aziz, who lost by a landslide in his bid to become the Pengkalan Chepa PAS division chief.

Nik Abduh had previously boasted that PAS could one day take over the Selangor government. 

Azmin’s tweet attracted a storm of protests from PAS members.

On a similar note, Bakri today urged his leaders to decide once and for all whether to sever ties with PKR, as demanded by many PAS divisions.

“In the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar parliamentary by-elections, PKR supported PAN (Amanah) which fielded candidates against us. So we need PAS to come out with a strong decision on PKR,” he said.

In the two by-elections last July, PAS contested against Amanah and Barisan Nasional. The split in votes allowed BN to win both seats. – April 27, 2017.