IPOH, 14 Aug 2008: PAS has been urged to quit the Pakatan Rakyat government should it be formed on 16 Sept if Islam is sidelined and the ulama leadership does not get the place it deserves.
The party’s Selangor Youth representative, Zulkifli Ahmad, said the 12th general election victory that gave five states to PAS, DAP and PKR had started to wipe away the term “Islamic nation” from the lips of PAS leaders.
“Some say don’t mention ‘Islamic nation’ if we want the support of non-Muslims. Now we have to talk about welfare state, to the extent [that] some are preventing president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang from talking about the Islamic nation,” he said when debating the policy address of PAS Youth Heads at the movement’s 49th annual assembly here today.
Is PAS willing to join the government if the party’s president becomes a mere Youth Minister and the role of ulama is just to issue fatwas? he asked to applause from the party’s delegates and observers.
The three-day PAS annual assembly or muktamar begins tomorrow. – Bernama
