ABDUL Hadi Awang was the happiest anyone had seen at the PAS congress that concluded yesterday.

It was evident in the jokes he cracked at the event, calling arch-enemy Dr Mahathir Mohamad a more “mature” man, and likening the coming Port Dickson by-election to “joint naval exercises with Umno”.

The PAS president did not look as stressed as he did during the 14th general election, when the party was repeatedly accused of receiving money from Umno and questioned how it could win.

Despite securing only 18 federal seats out of the 158 it contested, PAS is now stronger than ever since it left the now-defunct Pakatan Rakyat amid predictions that it would never win on its own.

Against pundits’ predictions that it would be wiped out in Terengganu, the Islamist party not only recaptured the state, but took it with style by winning a two-thirds majority in the state assembly – 22 out of 33 seats.

The retaking of the president’s home state is important not just for PAS, but is also a personal triumph for Hadi, who lost the state in 2004 after just one term.

“Our victories in Kelantan and Terengganu show that PAS can lead,” said his son and Youth chief Muhamad Khalil Abdul Hadi during his winding-up speech at the party’s annual congress, or muktamar, yesterday.

It is, therefore, no surprise that this year’s congress was held in Kuala Terengganu. The last time it was held in the state capital was 1999 after Hadi became menteri besar, while the first congress in Terengganu was held in Hadi’s hometown of Rusila in 1986.

More than a symbolic gesture, this year’s congress will go down as PAS’ most organised affair that saw a high number of attendees.

Besides 1,200 party delegates, the event – which was more like a festival, and received the full backing of the state government machinery – also attracted thousands, who attended round-the-clock religious talks and performances, and utilised the state government service counters that were set up.

If not for its green theme, the congress could have been mistaken for a Barisan Nasional event.

“This is the most organised muktamar ever,” said 72-year-old Bagan Serai delegate Termizi Mohamed, who has been attending the annual event for 50 years.

The grand show and retaking of Terengganu aside, Hadi has more cause to be pleased due to the fact that Umno is now wooing PAS.

Although PAS did not quite become the federal kingmaker in GE14 as envisaged by Hadi, it still decided affairs in Kedah, where it won 15 out of 36 state seats.

The party’s 18 federal seats – the fourth largest bloc after Pakatan Harapan, BN and Gabungan Parti Sarawak – paved the way for the Islamists to become even more relevant at the national level.

As a result, Umno, the party that PAS has long accused of straying from Islam, has come knocking on the Islamists’ door.

For the first time since PAS left BN in 1977, the top Umno leadership was present at the opening of this year’s congress, themed “Islam Leads” and held at the Gong Badak indoor stadium, with the BN lynchpin’s president, Ahmad Zahid Hamid, and his lieutenants sitting through Hadi’s policy speech.

Umno, of course, was hoping for a tie-up with PAS at the congress. After losing Putrajaya and getting less than 10% of the non-Malay vote, Umno believes the way back to power is through a partnership with PAS.

In his policy speech, Hadi kept the issue of formal cooperation with Umno open. There was no mention of BN or Umno, and he left the matter to be deciphered by delegates – although they then decided to leave the question to the Syura Council.

“Hadi was treading carefully as he wanted to see how the delegates would respond to the idea,” said Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Dr Mazlan Ali.

And more importantly, he said, Hadi wants to keep the option of whether to work with Umno or PH parties open.

Ilham Centre executive director Azlan Zainal said Hadi was unsure of reactions from the ground after the Sg Kandis and Seri Setia by-elections, which saw fewer PAS votes go to the Umno candidate than Umno votes for PAS.

But, Hadi and his delegates are aware that their rivals need their help to beat PH in the next polls.

“At this moment, PAS doesn’t need to join BN, as it is on the rise. It, too, has ambitions to become the Malay-Muslim leader in the opposition pact after playing second fiddle to Umno for so many years,” said Azlan.

And so, it makes a lot of sense to leave its options open. For, never in its history has PAS gotten such a passionate suitor in Umno. – September 17, 2018.