PAS vice-president Amar Abdullah has downplayed criticism over a party leader’s alleged mocking of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s peace-brokering efforts between Thailand and Cambodia.
Amar told FMT the issue should not be blown out of proportion, especially since PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari had deleted his Facebook post following public backlash.
He dismissed claims that the incident would affect support for the party, including among fence-sitters and non-Malay voters, as suggested by political analyst Mazlan Ali in a report by FMT.
“It won’t backfire on us. Making digs at one another is a normal part of politics, even in everyday life.
“Anwar himself makes jabs at his political rivals, so what’s the issue?” he said.
Mazlan had warned that Fadhli’s post mocking Malaysia’s mediation of the Thailand-Cambodia peace talks could undermine Perikatan Nasional’s efforts to woo undecided voters.
The controversial post featured a cartoon of a monkey acting as a judge between a goat and a sheep fighting over bananas, with the caption, “The goat and sheep shouldn’t need a monkey to mediate their banana dispute”.
Fadhli deleted the post following the criticism against him.
Several Pakatan Harapan MPs have since lodged police reports against him.
Despite calls from multiple quarters, including from DAP MP Syahredzan Johan and PKR Youth chief Kamil Munim, to apologise, he has refused and said he would leave the matter to the police.
A ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand took effect at midnight on Monday, ending five days of intense border fighting that left at least 38 people dead and displaced more than 300,000.
The agreement was reached after Malaysia, as Asean chair, along with the US and China, brought both sides to the table for peace talks in Putrajaya on Monday.
