KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — Parti Amanah Negara Youth Chief Mohd Hasbie Muda today rejected continued claims that his party was a proxy for the DAP, insisting that Amanah was its own entity

In an exclusive interview with Sinar Harian, he rubbished the allegations that his party leaders were subservient to DAP as they wanted the latter’s funding, saying they would have just joined the socialist democrat party if this were the case.

"Since the very beginning, the issue frequently raised by opposing parties was that DAP sponsored Amanah.

"In reality, if we wanted sponsorship from DAP, it would be more convenient to simply join DAP. It’s easier, and DAP has more seats,” he was quoted as saying.

Instead, Mohd Hasbie said Amanah was founded on its commitment to pursue an Islamic agenda based on common welfare.

He also said the allegations against Amanah were not unique, and have also been hurled at others associated with DAP including Umno now and PAS before.

PAS and DAP had partnered in the Pakatan Rakyat informal coalition after the 2008 general election.

"In my view, that is an accusation, and whenever any party aligns with DAP, they are accused of the same things. In the past, Semangat 46 was accused of being DAP’s pawns,” he said, referring to the former Umno splinter party that worked with DAP for the 2004 general election.

The Amanah Youth chief said his party was not bothered with the claim, as it was more focused on winning over voters on merit.

Amanah was founded by a progressive faction of PAS leaders who were purged from the party during an internal election in 2015.