Calls for Hadi to step down intensifies

PETALING JAYA: Calls for Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (pic) to step down as PAS president have intensified on social media and it is believed that a plot to force his resignation is emerging from within the party-affiliated NGO, Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia (PasMa).

PasMa president Datuk Phahrolrazi Zawawi previously stressed that there was no attempt to overthrow Hadi, but the newly established group’s member base apparently have an agenda of their own.

Former Santan assemblyman in Perlis, Zolkharnain Abidin, turned some heads when he recently posted a status update on Facebook suggesting that Hadi needed to be replaced.

“PAS not only needs a new president, but also a president who is capable of bringing change,” he wrote Wednesday, prompting a slew of comments both from Hadi’s supporters and his detractors.

Many supporters leaped to Hadi’s defence, saying that there was no one better qualified to lead the party.

There were also those who threw in the names of other prominent PAS leaders such as vice-president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man and deputy-president Mohamad Sabu as possible replacements.

Zolkharnain, who is a prominent PasMa figurehead, also said in a separate post that PAS would continue to be a part of Pakatan Rakyat even without PKR and DAP.

This drew the ire of some followers, who deemed his post to be an attempt to stoke the flames in the tension between PAS and its allies.

The increasing rift between PAS and its Pakatan partners came to a head during the Selangor Mentri Besar impasse and Hadi’s subsequent absence from the coalition’s supreme council meetings.

However, following a recent two-day retreat, the PAS leadership reaffirmed the party’s commitment to Pakatan.

PAS research centre director Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad told the Star Online that it was time to move on as the constant bickering was perilous to Pakatan’s future.

“The recent crisis (in Pakatan) is understandable. But if we want to move forward, we can’t be using the reverse gear. We have to put our actions in tandem quickly,” he said when contacted.

He also defended Hadi’s absence from supreme council meetings, saying that he was perfectly entitled to having differences of opinion.

“Of course, I’m sure. It is not a personal issue,” Dzulkefly said when asked if Hadi would attend more meetings after the consensus reached at the retreat.

He also pointed out that there was no problem with Hadi’s leadership, and defended the president against claims that he vetoed decisions.

“He has never used veto power to make decisions, and has always consulted the party. It was only this (Selangor MB) crisis,” he said.