Malaysia: Key takeaways from PAS muktamar

• The 67th PAS muktamar was a surprisingly muted affair, considering that it involved a leadership election and lingering questions on whether the party was still committed to Umno.
• Normally, a PAS annual delegates assembly will be filled with rhetoric on the musuh (enemy), but this time around major themes across speeches centred on alliances and loyalty.
• A key question going into the muktamar was whether the delegates favoured an alliance with Umno through the Muafakat Nasional pact or Perikatan Nasional, which Umno has rejected.
• PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s policy speech saw him adopting strategic ambiguity, wherein he explained how both Muafakat and PN were part of the party’s grand plan towards its goals.
• On one hand, he said Muafakat’s purpose was to unite major Malay-Muslim groups while PN serves as a “national unity” platform.
• PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang When the delegates spoke at the muktamar, they would tread carefully to avoid any rhetoric which could upset either Muafakat or PN backers.
• What was telling was that despite the last muktamar having passed a resolution to “defend” the now-defunct PN-government and “strengthen” Muafakat, none of the delegates objected to PAS going head-to-head with Umno during the Malacca elections.
• A delegate from Malacca, Sudin Nooh, chimed, telling the assembly that although PN and Muafakat will clash during the elections, the party has to remember that its ultimate goal was Muslim unity.
• “We will see what are the results of this election. It will be a yardstick for the 15th general election. “We need to unite… We formed this party with the agenda to unite the ummah and it will remain our agenda,” Sudin said.
• Unlike 2020, there weren’t any resolutions that touched on either PN or Muafakat, leaving the question of PAS’ allegiance hanging.

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