MOHD Khairuddin Aman Razali, who is alleged to be behind a move to replace Abdul Hadi Awang as PAS president, has been rejected by party delegates in an apparent support for the party leadership.

Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, who is said to favour a partnership with Umno, has also been rejected.

Both men are among several party leaders who lost their central committee posts after failing to emerge among the top 18 voted candidates. Two others who failed to retain their positions are Sallehen Mukhyi and Mokhtar Senik.

Selection committee chairman Mohd Nurkhuzaini Ab Rahman announced the results of the 2021-2023 PAS central committee election at the party’s 67th muktamar (general assembly) in Kuala Terengganu today.

The Malaysian Insight had yesterday reported that this muktamar will witness a clash between pro-Perikatan Nasional (PN) and pro-Umno camps within the party.

Sources said a similar skirmish between the pro-PN group and Geng Ustaz, a nickname given to the pro-Umno group, occurred during branch-level party polls last month.

This resulted in the pro-PN camp, which is aligned with Hadi, dominating the muktamar, while Geng Ustaz has been side-lined.

A source said Geng Ustaz seems to be losing influence after pressure is directed towards Khairuddin, who is its purported leader and ex-plantation industries and commodities minister during the PN administration.

This comes after the circulation of a leaked audio clip allegedly of Khairuddin criticising Hadi.

The Malaysian Insight has been told that the recording is one of several factors why local-level PAS delegates rejected Khairuddin-associated candidates.

Khairuddin is also incumbent PAS Syura Ulama Council secretary. The Central Dewan Ulama voting has been postponed until next month.

Two deputy federal ministers Ahmad Amzad Hashim and Ahmad Marzuk Shaary are among those voted onto the central committee. The party constitution allows for five members to be appointed onto the committee.

PAS delegates decided to maintain the three incumbent vice-presidents, namely Religious Affairs Minister Idris Ahmad, Kelantan Deputy Chief Minister Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah and Terengganu Chief Minister Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.

However, Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki failed to garner enough votes for the third-ranked position in the party. – November 7, 2021.