KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — PAS is resorting to terrible tactics like defaming their political rivals to bait voters for the 15th general election, Johor DAP vice-chief Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali said today.

He claimed the Islamist party is now desperate as it has no quality policies to offer voters.

"PAS today has no meaningful qualities. Their policies are nowhere to be found, and their states don’t have much to offer, and all they have left is spreading slander and libel.

"If Umno is ruining Malay politics with corruption, then PAS is ruining the Malay world with the culture of defamation,” he said in a statement reacting to PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang’s tweet yesterday.

Abdul Hadi labelled DAP and its ilk as "pro-communist” — an old bogey that had been repeatedly used by Umno in past election campaigns — and urged voters to reject them at the ballot box.

Sheikh Umar urged voters to counter this latest style of politics from PAS.

He said that just as corruption will destroy the economy, the "culture of defamation” will weaken Malaysia’s social development and make it less competitive globally.

"If this continues, Malaysia will become a weaker country because of Umno and PAS.

"Wouldn’t Hadi be ashamed when he sees that our neighbours are rapidly developing in contrast to us?” the DAP central executive committee member asked.