BAD NEWS ABOUT PAS IS GOOD NEWS FOR UMNO
Penulis : Zubaidah Abu Bakar, New Straits Times (16 Jun 2009)
The public spat between the Islamist party's ulama and reformist factions threatens to affect the party's preparations to retain the Kelantan state seat.
It may be good news for Umno, though, and a chance for its new Kelantan chief, Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, to justify his appointment as leader of the state party. An Umno victory in the almost-exclusively Malay constituency, which Barisan Nasional won in 2004, could act as a launching pad for winning more seats in the state.
BN has six seats compared with Pas' 38 and Parti Keadilan Rakyat's one. Kelantan has been under Pas rule since 1990, with Pas holding on with a razor-thin majority after the 2004 general election.
Calls to ban certain personalities from campaigning in Manik Urai and the cold shoulder given to national leaders wanting to discuss preparations for the by-election with grassroots leaders have put Pas in a quan-dary.
The friction is due to individuals representing different camps in the party: the pro-ulama group keen on fostering ties with Umno and supportive of unity talks proposed by party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, and reformists who reject any collaboration with Umno. (Full Report's)
No comments:
Post a Comment