DAP not man enough to divorce PAS, says Nik Abduh
The war of words between PAS and DAP continues, this time with a call by newly elected PAS Youth chief Nik Mohd Abduh Nik Aziz urging its ally-turned-enemy to be "more manly" and to "divorce" PAS. In a Facebook post, the son of late PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat said DAP should be brave enough to reject PAS outright and make the severance of ties between both parties official. So far, DAP has only cut ties with PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang while remaining in the opposition pact Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and maintaining a working relationship with the rest of the Islamist party. DAP leaders, however, have begun calling for PAS representatives in the Penang and Selangor governments to resign following the motion to cut ties with DAP by the PAS annual congress or muktamar recently. "They like to pressure PAS to cut ties with them. As if they are not brave enough to as for a divorce from PAS. "I think DAP is like a woman. PAS is the one who is manly. The woman cannot lawfully ask for a divorce. That's why they are not committed to asking for a divorce," wrote Nik Abduh on his Facebook page. "Come on lah DAP, be more manly. Choose, be gentleman, cool like PAS and straightforward… reject PAS," he said. PAS's motion to cut ties with DAP is seen as a tit-for-tat move against DAP's decision to sever ties with Hadi in March. DAP said Hadi's unilateral ways and refusal to abide by PR's common platform and agenda had ruined cooperation in the tripartite seven-year-old pact that included PKR. The motion, which originated in the PAS Dewan Ulama, or clerics' wing, was passed without debate, angering grassroots members in the main body's assembly. The assembly, which also held elections for office bearers, saw almost all leaders from the party's progressive faction wiped out. The new leadership now consists of ulama who, unlike the progressives, are said to be less keen to cooperate with PR and uphold its common manifesto. The motion has raised questions as to whether PR's continued arrangement of power sharing between its three parties can continue, especially in Penang and Selangor where the coalition leads the state governments. Last wednesday, Selangor DAP chairperson Tony Pua said PKR had to choose whether to work with PAS or DAP in the state administration. – June 12, 2015.
