Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today accused PAS of attempting to divide the country’s Muslims through religion, saying it was aimed at creating conflict meant to win support for the opposition Islamist party.
The Umno deputy president said the country’s 60 per cent Malay-Muslim majority are now split into irreconcilable factions following “perverted fatwas” issued by PAS, which usually carry staunch anti-Barisan Nasional (BN) messages.
Calling it “deviations”, Muhyiddin said these edicts clearly carried divisive elements that go against the ideas of Islam, a religion that strongly promotes unity.
The deputy prime minister cited as an example the ongoing debate over PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s famous 1981 speech dubbed “Amanat Haji Hadi (Hadi’s Message)” calling for the destruction of the ruling party Umno, which he branded as infidels.
“There are quarters who are dividing our ummah (people), issuing many kinds of fatwas that is aimed to sow hatred and creates conflict among us,” he said at a working visit after performing Friday prayers at the Al-Mukhsin Mosque here.
“We know about that. Its widely spread over the media... it is creating a lot of [fractures] among us,” Muhyiddin said.
The “Amanat Haji Hadi” had drawn objections from various quarters, including former PAS members, who called on Abdul Hadi to withdraw it for the sake of the unity of the Malays and Muslims.
Abdul Hadi dismissed claims that he had remained silent because he was afraid, but said he would only state his stand of whether to defend or withdraw the message if he was allowed to go on air.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, in defence of Abdul Hadi, said the issue was being exploited for political gains, saying their rivals had blown the matter out of proportion to tarnish PAS’s Islamist credentials.
“Remember: the speech was made in 1981,” Anwar, speaking to the media yesterday, said with a smile.
“He should be allowed or given the space to explain himself. We should at least listen to his explanation first,” added the PKR de facto leader.
Muhyiddin, however, insisted that the “Amanat Hadi” was a blatantly aimed at sowing hatred towards the ruling coalition and urged Muslim voters not be swayed by opposition attempts to use religion to woo support.
He called on the country’s ethnic majority to reject a divisive opposition and said voters must continue to back the Najib administration if they want Malaysia to enjoy continued success.
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I find it funny that UMNO constantly accused PAS of being deviant and causing disunity among Muslims and at the same time, continuously coerced PAS into forming a unity government with them
It's UMNO that divide and cheated their own Malay community and crying for sympathy votes.
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