PAS promised support for Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the event of a no-confidence vote in Parliament against the prime minister, but it is not backing Pakatan Harapan in the Semenyih by-election, said Takiyuddin Hassan.
The PAS secretary-general said the party’s position in a vote of no confidence in the prime minister was among several issues discussed in a closed door meeting with Dr Mahathir last Friday.
“The three of us – Abdul Hadi Awang, Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, and I signed a letter which said we will back Dr Mahathir Mohamad should a vote of no confidence take place in parliament. It has nothing to do with the Semenyih by-election,” Takiyuddin said, after a meeting with Umno at the Barisan Nasional operation room in Semenyih.
“There is nothing for me to hide.”
Takiyuddin declined, however, to confirm if the support for Dr Mahathir was linked to the RM90 million scandal surrounding PAS leaders.
He said last week’s meeting was held at the request of Hadi, who suspected a brewing internal conflict in Pakatan Harapan.
“We know that the parliament session is starting in March (and our suspicions of infighting grew) with Mahathir’s statement in which he said there is a betrayal. We politicians can sense such things.”
“Our president felt the same, that something is not right, so he asked to meet Mahathir.”
Takiyuddin added that the meeting last week also discussed oil royalties due to PAS-controlled states as well as the lack of representation for Kelantan and Terengganu in the new Economic Action Council.
Takiyuddin reiterated that PAS would continue to work with Umno.
He said PAS participation in the Semenyih by-election campaign is on a “smaller scale is because it is a state seat.” compared with “Cameron Highlands, which was a parliamentary seat”.
“We believe the voters know what to do. We give our full support to Umno.”
Previously, Dr Mahathir said that at last week’s meeting, PAS had agreed in writing not to back BN and Umno in the Semenyih by-election.
Dr Mahathir, Hadi, Samsuri and Takiyuddin supposedly signed the agreement at the meeting.
Dr Mahathir said Hadi told him that PAS had backed BN in the Cameron Highlands by-election because the PH candidate was from DAP, the sworn enemy of PAS.
The Semenyih by-election is a four-cornered fight between Muhammad Aiman Zainali (PH), Zakaria Hanafi (BN), Kuan Chee Heng (independent) and Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul (Parti Sosialis Malaysia).
The by-election is held following the death of Bakhtiar Mohd Nor on January 11 from a heart attack. – February 18, 2019.
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