PH slams PAS’s hypocrisy over BN voting directive

JOHOR BAHRU: Johor Pakatan Harapan has criticised PAS for lacking principles after the Islamic party instructed its members to vote for Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates in constituencies where Perikatan Nasional (PN) is not contesting in the state election.

Johor PH chairman Aminolhuda Hassan said the directive contradicted PAS’s earlier narrative, in which it criticised the federal unity government’s cooperation between Umno and DAP, and labelled it “UmDAP”.

He said it showed PAS was willing to abandon a stance it had previously used to attack its political rivals.

“When the unity government led by Anwar Ibrahim was first formed, PAS leaders branded Umno as ‘UmDAP’. But today, they are instructing PAS members to vote for Umno candidates,” he told FMT.

Earlier, PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man said the directive was issued to ensure support for Umno-BN candidates in seats where PN is not fielding candidates.

Separately, Aminolhuda said Johoreans had not forgotten the 2020 “backdoor government” of PAS, Bersatu and Umno, which he claimed only served their political interests over that of the people.

He noted that the government lasted only 33 months despite being led by two prime ministers from the loose coalition.

“This clearly shows that the coalition was more interested in forming a government to serve its own political interests over serving the people,” he said.

Aminolhuda also accused Johor BN of misleading voters over its approach to the state election.

“Umno-BN under Onn Hafiz Ghazi’s leadership in Johor was not honest with the people when it announced that BN would contest on its own.

“However, after witnessing the growing wave of public support for PH’s programmes, it allegedly entered into a covert pact with PAS and Parti Wawasan Negara, a splinter party formed by former Bersatu members,” he said.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi played down claims of cooperation with PAS and Wawasan in the Johor polls, saying any such discussions were likely held only at the grassroots level.