The uncontested re-election of PAS‘s top five leaders, including party president Abdul Hadi Awang, shows that the Islamic party is content to consolidate its Malay support base rather than reach beyond it, say analysts.
Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said the fact that not only the top two posts but also all three vice-presidencies went uncontested reflected a conscious choice to preserve stability.
He said Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor’s decision not to go for one of the vice-president’s posts, despite receiving sufficient nominations, was particularly surprising.
“I guess it is due to the fact that a few weeks ago, the PAS ulama council issued their edict – do not rock the boat. I think Sanusi understood this. That’s why he declined to accept the nomination. The direction is that they don’t want to rock the boat.
“They don’t want to be like Bersatu, which is rocking very heavily. I suppose PAS is very, very satisfied with its core supporters, the Malays. By keeping the status quo, PAS is signalling that they are satisfied with how things are right now,” he told FMT.
Azmi said this in turn signalled that PAS was very stable and strong internally, allowing the party to hold its own against Bersatu within Perikatan Nasional.
However, he said keeping Hadi at the helm would hamper the Islamic party’s chances of expanding beyond its traditional support base.
“The non-Malays are very wary of PAS because of the extreme views propagated by Hadi, especially. Keeping Hadi and the rest of the top five there will alienate the non-Malay support which PAS really needs now,” said Azmi.
Hadi has been PAS president since 2003. There had been rumours that he wished to step down due to health issues, but the seven-term Marang MP quashed this by saying “I want to die while still in office”.
Hadi and his deputy, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, were returned unopposed ahead of PAS’s 71st muktamar, while the party’s three vice-presidents – Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, Idris Ahmad, and Amar Abdullah – also kept their posts uncontested.
Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said the absence of contests for the top posts reflected the party’s Islamic ethos on leadership.
“According to Islamic principles, someone who offers himself or fights for positions can be considered to have violated the teachings of Islam, and such people must be sidelined. That is why in PAS they practise the principle of loyalty to the leader, or ‘wala’.
“This is why power struggles do not happen in PAS, except when there is a clash of thought, such as in 2015, which led to the formation of Amanah,” he said, adding that leadership change in PAS would only come with age, infirmity or death.
Mazlan predicted that PAS would continue with its current trajectory under Hadi, with a Malay-Muslim focus dominating its political narratives.
“Its influence in Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu must be maintained through this agenda, and I expect PAS will continue to hold power in these four states. Efforts to expand PN’s influence beyond its traditional base may be taken up more by Bersatu.”
Without any renewal in leadership, he said PAS would remain stuck in the old mould. While this may allow the party to retain control of the four northern and east coast states, taking over the federal government will be difficult, he said.
“The election results will still be the status quo,” he said, referring to the 2022 general election which led to a hung Parliament and then the unity government’s formation.
