IT was a short message that lasted a mere 20 minutes, but PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s speech was aimed at stirring the emotions of Permatang Pauh voters tonight.

“Penang is a historical place as this is where PAS became a political party in 1951. Permatang Pauh is also a special place for us, for when we lost Kelantan in 1979 after the emergency order and lost all the seats in Terengganu and everywhere else, we won one seat here with Zabidi Ali in 1978.”

Against predictions that PAS could be wiped out in GE14, Hadi’s message resonated with the almost 5,000 attendees.

Standing at the same spot PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar had stood several months earlier, Hadi urged Permatang Pauh voters to ensure that the Islamist party would win here.

Citing health reasons, he exited after that without touching on other issues.

This was the 70-year-old’s third public engagement this weekend after launching the Perak election machinery yesterday and an open dialogue with Indian civil society groups today morning.

But Hadi’s short appearance tonight also sent the strongest signal yet that PAS has ended all ties with his former ally PKR by striking at its leader Anwar Ibrahim’s home ground.

Earlier, PAS Penang youth exco Muhammad Hafiz Hashim reminded Permatang Pauh constituents that they had backed Anwar against Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 1998.

“But Anwar is now on good terms with Dr Mahathir again, what becomes of the sacrifices you made for him all those years?” said Hafiz.

“What is needed is a true party that will stand by its principles and not be swayed by money politics. So you need to ensure that the PAS logo will represent Permatang Pauh in GE14.”

Permatang Pauh division chief Omar Hassan said that the division will contest all three state seats and one federal seat in Permatang Pauh.

“Permatang Pauh was a PAS seat won by former state chief Zabidi Ali before Anwar, and the time is ripe for us to take this seat back,” said Omar.

After Omar, Parti Cinta Malaysia deputy president Huan Cheng Guan had the crowd in stitches when he blasted DAP and Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for the state of Penang.

“Lim should take leave when he was charged for the purchase of the bungalow, but he hasn’t done that. And he probably holds the record for suing people for defamation,” said Huan.

He said only PAS and Umno can deliver the Malays votes.

The former Gerakan leader and one-term Batu Kawan MP urged the crowd to ensure that PAS wins in Permatang Pauh.

Anwar and his wife, PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, have held the seat for 36 years or eight terms (1982-2018) after winning eight general elections and two by-elections (2008 and 2015).

Anwar first won the Permatang Pauh seat in 1982 and held it for four straight terms (1982-1998) before he was jailed for sodomy.

The seat was then occupied by Dr Wan Azizah for a little more than two terms (1999-2008) before she resigned in 2008 to allow Anwar retake the seat in a by-election after his release in 2004.

The former deputy prime minister then went on to win another two terms (2008 and 2013) before his tenure as MP was again cut short by a second sodomy conviction in 2015. Dr Wan Azizah, again, won the subsequent by-election.

Permatang Pauh is one of 13 parliamentary seats in Penang. During the 2013 elections, BN won 3, while DAP took seven while PKR took the other three.

The Permatang Pauh constituency had more than 71,000 voters comprising of Malays at 70%, Chinese (23%) and Indians (6%). The seat also contains three state constituencies.

PKR won Seberang Jaya and Penanti while PAS won Permatang Pasir during the last elections. – February 4, 2018.