PAS officials have never been investigated for corruption, said president Abdul Hadi Awang, as he campaigned to distinguish the party from its rivals Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan.

“We’ve asked in Parliament before on the number of BN and PH officials who have been investigated for corruption by the MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission),” he told a ceramah crowd in Tepoh, in the Kuala Nerus parliamentary constituency.

“BN (officials) have been investigated. PH has been investigated. PAS has never been called in for questioning,” Hadi said to cheers from his supporters.

PAS is contesting close to 160 parliamentary seats in the 14th general election – the highest number for any single political party. Besides its traditional nemesis Umno and the BN coalition, it also faces candidates from its former allies, PKR and DAP.

PAS ended ties with PKR and DAP in 2015. A splinter faction of its former leaders and parliamentarians have also formed another party, Amanah.

PKR, DAP and Amanah are in the PH coalition together with Bersatu, which is led by former Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Surveys, such as by think-tank Institut Darul Ehsan, showed that support for PAS has declined ever since it split with PKR and DAP.

In its latest survey in late March, IDE found that support for BN was 42%, PH 41%, while PAS only managed to get the thumbs up from 13% of respondents.

Invoke, meanwhile, found that only 14% of Malay voters in its December survey last year would vote for PAS.

Despite these claims, PAS officials, such as Hadi, have not stopped pitching their party a viable alternative to BN and PH.

At yesterday’s ceramah Hadi boasted about the party’s Islamist credentials and said this was the reason for its officials being clean and untainted by scandal.

“We have taught our officials to have a relationship with God. That is why they are scared of committing corrupt acts,” Hadi said. – April 30, 2018.