PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang defended his track record of criticising the government over scandal-ridden 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and said he had chided Prime Minister Najib Razak on it in private.

“We spoke about the 1MDB issue in Parliament and asked for a Royal Commission of Inquiry but it was not publicised because the media is not friendly to us.

“We also met Najib. We met him but didn’t ask him for projects. We chided him. We not only chided him in Parliament but we said it to his face.

“If he’s cruel (zalim), we say he’s cruel in front of him. We are not afraid. We did it with Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the past, too,” Hadi told a gathering of Indian civil society groups during a open dialogue session in Kepala Batas, Penang, today.

He said while others asked Najib for projects, PAS scolded him and advised him in private.

“We are an opposition that advises and not just scolds.”

Hadi was responding to a question from a dialogue participant, who identified himself as S. Rajoo, on why the Islamist party leader was silent on issues regarding Najib and 1MDB.

Hadi was also asked why PAS quit Pakatan Rakyat and said it was because PKR and DAP did not respect the party’s struggles.

“They cannot touch our policies but they went against hudud in Kelantan.

“PKR are opportunists and inconsistent while DAP are chauvinists.

“DAP wanted local council elections in urban areas but we were against it. If elections were held in urban areas, based on demographics, only one race would prevail and it would cause tensions.”

He said the two parties also issued statements against PAS without discussing them with the party.

“Their culture is inconsistent with ours,” said the 70-year-old Marang MP.

On whether PAS would join Pakatan Harapan to form a government, Hadi said it was unlikely.

“Dr Mahathir will put up his old policies. And if that’s the case, there will be no cooperation unless they are willing to move away from them,” said Hadi.

The dialogue session was attended by a dozen of Indian civil society groups and streamed live on PAS Penang’s Facebook page.

This was one of PAS’ first attempts at reaching out to non-Muslim groups on its own after it broke away from the now defunct Pakatan Rakyat. PAS has also refused to join the new PH opposition pact. – February 4, 2018.