NIK Omar Abdul Aziz campaigning for Pakatan Harapan candidates is having an effect on the PAS grassroots, said party leaders.

PAS Simpang Tiga elections machinery chief Taufik Yusof said Nik Omar carried his father’s aura and is perceived as the inheritor of Nik Aziz Nik Mat’s  legacy by virtue of being his first born son, which was why PH was taking Nik Omar on a nationwide tour.  

“Honestly, it affects (PAS). He carries the aura and legacy of Tok Guru with his polite ways. 

“We understand PH’s strategy. Even though Nik Omar is standing in the Chempaka state seat, Amanah is taking him on the road to capitalise on this,” he told Malaysia Decides ahead of a mega ceramah tonight in Hulu Kelang set to feature PH’s big guns, including Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

PH leaders hope that Nik Omar’s presence will help shift the ground in the Gombak parliamentary seat where caretaker Selangor MB Azmin Ali is the candidate and finding the going tough.  

Taufik said the party should not dwell on Nik Omar being an “ungrateful son (anak derhaka)”  who did not get his mother’s blessing to contest in the election.

“The vice-president, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, already issued a statement that we are not to go overboard on this issue,” he said. 

PAS Gombak Setia elections director Major Wan said several former PAS leaders’ children, such as Mujahid Yusof Rawa and Faiz Fadzil, are with Amanah but were not affecting the Islamist party. 

“Before this, the children of Fadzil Noor and Yusof Rawa left but it did not have an effect. 

“PAS is a party that champions Islamic principles. Even if leaders abandon our party, we are still loyal to PAS because we are loyal to Islam,” the 58-year old said in dismissing the impact Nik Omar has on the party’s grassroots.

Gombak Setia voter Razlan Ramli said he would not vote for PAS as they were not part of Pakatan Harapan. 

“PAS cannot replace Barisan Nasional like PH can. The Islamic principles championed by PAS is also harsh and unsuitable for Malaysians,” he said. 

The results of a Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) study last Friday showed that PH would likely win Selangor but with a narrow majority compared with their win in the 13th general election. 

IDE vice-president Mohammad Redzuan Othman said BN would likely get 24 state assembly seats compared with 12 in the last election because of the redelineation exercise and three-cornered fights. 

Among the seats likely to be won by PH is the Gombak Setia state seat being contested by PKR’s Muhammad Hilman Idham. 

Hilman will go head-to-head with BN’s Megat Zulkarnain Omardin and Hasbullah Mohd Ridzwan of PAS. – May 6, 2018.