PAS IGNORING DAPS’S BOYCOTT CALL FOR KUALA BESUT BY-ELECTION

The situation now looks as if PAS is undergoing a ‘stress test’ as the party contemplates between following DAP’s call to boycott the Kuala Besut state seat by-election or to participate.

Following DAP’s call means PAS admits the party does not recognize and acknowledge the 13th general election result and if the party boycott the by-election, that simply means the party is subservient to DAP.
And if the party boycotts the by-election, its members who are now feeling uneasy with the ‘marriage of convenience’ with DAP and PKR will know or the party leaders will reveal that they are playing ‘second fiddle’ to DAP and Party Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

The party leaders have openly admitted that the party recognised and acknowledged the 13th general election result and therefore, they had decided not to participate in the Black 505 rally that PKR de facto chief Anwar Ibrahim has been organizing all over the country.

Although PAS secretary-general Mustapha Ali said the party would decide in the meeting with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) presidential council, the ground seems to go the other way.
The party is just one seat away to give the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) a draw or ‘hung assembly’ and two seats away of being the ruling party.

PAS leaders is said to have decided to contest the seat and the party is adamant it would try hard to win even though it is acknowledged that it is not an easy task.
Kuala Besut has been an Umno stronghold and PAS has yet to make any breakthrough which explains the majority of more than 2,000 votes despite the BN scrapped through with just two seats majority in the state in the 13th general election.

PAS is actually not in a dilemma with DAP’s call not to contest as the party has been ‘ignoring’ and ‘not acknowledging’ DAP on several issues since before the 13th general election.
In fact, PAS does not even recognize Anwar to be the Prime Minister if PR is to win the general election as reflected in the party leaders’ statement such as Mustapha himself when he said the post should not be talked about until the general election was over.

And when the general election was over, the party distances itself from DAP and PKR and the relationship gets wider when the party spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat stepped down as Kelantan Mentri Besar.
With Nik Aziz out of the mainstream politics and policy making decision due to health reason, the party fundamentalist veterans began sidelining Nik Aziz’s men such as Husam Musa and few others who they (the funbdamentalists) see as Anwar’s men.

Given such scenario, it is very unlikely that PAS will stay out of the by-election and probably the party would want the by-election to be just a PAS affair rather than PR’s affair.