BERSAMA BEKAS PEGAWAI KANAN...Mursyidul Am PAS, Tuan Guru Dato' Nik Abdul Aziz mendengar dengan penuh minat apa yang diperkatakan oleh Jeneral (B) Tan Sri Dato' Mohamad Sany, bekas Panglima Angkatan Tentera Malaysia dalam satu majlis dialog dengan pemimpin PAS di Hotel Nikko pagi tadi (18 Feb). Memerhati adalah Dato' Ishak Baharom, bekas Mufti Selangor. Selain Jeneral Sany, turut serta adalah enam lagi jeneral bersara di samping lebih 40 bekas pegawai kanan kerajaan yang menyertai PAS. Foto Wan Zahari.
The perfect PAS candidate
High-fliers are being courted to show that even ex-civil servants are breaking ranks with the govt
By
Brendan Pereira
KUALA LUMPUR - He is past 50, has had a stellar career in public service and is a devout Muslim - 'he' is also the kind of election candidate Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) has been scouring the country for
If five years ago, the cleric-driven PAS fielded a sprinkling of young Malay professionals to show the electorate its less dogmatic side, this time, it wants to field former civil servants.
The aim is to create the impression that even experienced hands are willing to break ranks with the government and join the conservative Islamic opposition.
The Straits Times understands that at least six former senior civil servants could be fielded as candidates in the coming general election.
Among those shortlisted are Datuk Yeop Adlan Che Rose, former Malaysian ambassador to Mexico, Datuk Mohamad Amir Yaakub, former director of the National Rice Board, and several former senior military officials.
The numbers of former civil servants willing to lend their name to the cause of the conservative Islamic party could rise in the days ahead if a current charm campaign to convert closet supporters is successful.
There is a buzz in the party that two former top-tier enforcement officials have paid their membership fees.
PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat and other leaders spent three hours yesterday at a five-star hotel coaxing retired chief of Malaysian Armed Forces Tan Sri Mohamad Sany Abdul Ghafur, six former brigadier-generals, several former civil servants and a clutch of professors from a local university to help the party.
'Do not waste your time in retirement. Come and share the stage with us. If you are not willing to do that, at least wear the PAS badge openly,' he urged them.
He said PAS was fighting to uphold Islam, and assured them that God would look favourably upon them even if the political struggle was unsuccessful this time.
Judging from the response at the closed session, it was clear many of the former civil servants were on the same wavelength as PAS.
Most of them were English-educated and spoke with pride of having served the nation.
They had moved closer to the PAS as they found religion or after getting turned off by the excesses of the system.
Although the government has until the end of the year to dissolve Parliament and call an election, the indications are of polls being held by the end of the first quarter.
Political parties are busy cobbling together election platforms and fine-tuning strategies.
The main plank of the PAS strategy will be to tout its ability to govern in Kelantan and Terengganu, and to showcase what it claims is its wider acceptability by Malaysians.
PAS hopes to field former senior civil servants as candidates or showcase them as members to burnish its claim that since 1999, its inventory of supporters has grown to include lawyers, doctors, teachers, undergraduates and civil servants.
A party insider said: 'Every time establishment people support us openly, it makes PAS more and more a mainstream movement.'
Party officials told The Straits Times that membership was increasing by 1,000 a month, a significant drop-off from the heady days of 1999, when PAS ranks were swelling by 15,000 a month.
Still, 40 per cent of new members are graduates or diploma holders, they said.
Party secretary-general Nasharuddin Mat Isa outlined what the central leadership was looking for as it vetted candidates.
'Our candidates must be accepted by the people, have a track record of providing service and, in certain instances, the qualifications of the person will be the most important factor,' he said, noting that in the largely developed state of Selangor, PAS hoped to field candidates with notable qualifications.
One likely candidate with impressive credentials is former diplomat Datuk Yeop Adlan Che Rose. He said he had joined PAS because of his beliefs: 'When you are touched by Islam, there is no other way but to give support to those who are fighting for Islam.'
The former diplomat was instrumental in organising a gathering for foreign missions here to explain the conservative Islamic party's concept of an Islamic state.
The infusion of establishment types is unlikely to change the orientation of the party. Just before the 1999 elections, young professionals, upset at the sacking of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, joined PAS. For a while, it seemed as if their influence would grow and they might eclipse the clerics.
But the clerics are as strong as ever. PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat and party president Datuk Hadi Awang still set the tone and direction of the party.
EX-CIVIL SERVANTS AMONG PICKS
POTENTIAL CANDIDATES: Ex-diplomat Datuk Yeop (left) and Ex-rice chief Datuk Amir.
· Among those being eyed by PAS as potential candidates is Datuk Yeop Adlan Che Rose, former Malaysian ambassador to Mexico. He had served as deputy high commissioner to Singapore, senior officer at Malaysia's permanent mission to the UN and ambassador to Spain.
· Datuk Mohamad Amir Yaakub, ex-director of the National Rice Board, is another possibility.
· Other people being wooed by PAS are retired chief of Malaysian Armed Forces Tan Sri Mohamad Sany Abdul Ghafur, six former brigadier-generals, several former civil servants and a clutch of professors from a local university
___________________________
Terbitan : 22 Februari 2004
Ke atas
Home
