Hadi claims PAS was blocked from connecting with non-Muslims

PAS has denied accusations of racism and instead accused Umno, its former partner and current rival, of hindering its efforts to connect with non-Muslims. Party president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang claimed that when Umno was in power, PAS’s attempts to engage with non-Malays and non-Muslims through dialogue sessions were prohibited. He stated, “We had arranged for dialogue sessions with non-Muslims, but we were not permitted to hold these programs at hotels. They were cancelled and blocked.” Umno, a key member of the Barisan Nasional coalition, governed Malaysia from 1957 until 2018 when it was defeated in the 14th General Election.

In 2019, PAS, also an opposition party, joined forces with Umno to form Muafakat Nasional. They were part of the federal government from March 2020 to October 2022 but separated before the 15th General Election the following year. In his opening speech, Abdul Hadi emphasized the need for the party to gain support from non-Malays in order to have a chance at forming the next Federal Government. However, during the press conference, he acknowledged that PAS’s message has not reached non-Muslims extensively. He mentioned, “Information about us did not reach non-Muslims. The media is limited, so is information on social media. Not all our machinery can cover all the ground. Our information and narrative did not reach them and was disrupted by negative propaganda that puts Islam in a bad light.”

Despite this, Abdul Hadi expressed optimism about gaining support from non-Malays following the party’s recent victories in six state elections and increased votes in the Simpang Jeram, Pulai, and Pelangai by-elections. He highlighted PAS’s nearly 30 years of experience in governing Kelantan and claimed that non-Malays in the state have accepted the party. He stated, “The non-Malays know how we governed, the same in Terengganu and Kedah,” and revealed plans for more dialogue sessions with non-Malay voters in preparation for the next general election (GE16).

Abdul Hadi also mentioned that PAS has successfully appealed to young Malay Muslim voters in GE15 and the state elections. He noted, “What is interesting is that we are getting more support from the youth who gained knowledge from social media. And we have seen the shift from the voting streams, especially from the youth, so we need to pay attention to this.”