KLANG, Dec 25 — Parti Amanah Negara concluded its eighth edition of its National Convention last weekend and delegates and party leadership took advantage of the three-day event to voice out their opinions to strengthen the party’s direction for the 16th general election (GE16).

The party also elected its leaders and committee for the 2023-2026 term, where President Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu retained his post to lead Amanah for a third and final time.

Here are three things from the Amanah National Convention 2023:

Rejecting ‘Takfiri’ politics from Perikatan Nasional

Amanah made it clear that it won’t budge from its position of being a progressive and inclusive party as it rejects racial discrimination and aims to stop all expressions of racial dominance against minority races.

In his opening speech, Mohamad Sabu said rhetoric and narratives that the Malays are being oppressed in Malaysia were silly and only something their opponents — Perikatan Nasional (PN) — will spout to scare Muslims in Malaysia.

"We can all live in Malaysia together. There will be no supreme race, no supreme Chinese, no supreme Indian and no supreme Malay. We’re all in this together. We should not tolerate cruelty in the name of religion or race. Islam is for everyone and should not be used to scare people.

"This is what we should communicate, that being together, be it part of Islam or not, is the real point and the real reason for us to grow, strengthen our unity, and most of all, encourage progress,” said Mohamad Sabu, who also goes by the moniker of Mat Sabu.

During the presidential speech debates, delegates questioned why PN leaders like PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang could still roam free despite repeatedly using race and religion to stir tensions in the country.

Deputy chairman of Sarawak Amanah Andri Zulkarnaen Hamden said Amanah needs to let the public know that they need to be extra wary and careful when listening to people like Hadi who keep recycling old issues.

During the convention, among the motions debated by delegates was the Takfiri and defamation culture where all debaters accepted that Amanah should steer away from it.

Abdul Ghani Kecut from Kuala Pilah Amanah described Takfiri, or the act of declaring one an infidel due to a difference in opinion, as more dangerous than Covid-19 as the virus does not create divisiveness among Muslims.

Kubang Pasu Amanah delegate Asri Bahrom suggested four steps to eliminate the practice that would cause disputes among the people in Malaysia.

He said the four steps include urging the government, religious authorities and related agencies in this country to take firm and harsh action against individuals or political parties who openly spread and practice the takfiri ideology.

Party leadership must reach out to grassroots

One of the main issues raised by party members is the need to improve relations between members in the divisions with the top brass at the federal level.

Padang Besar Amanah branch chairman retired Capt Mohamad Saad@Yahaya said a divide exists between the grassroots and leaders which if not fixed will alienate the loyal members as they may feel neglected or unappreciated.

"There’s a gap there between top and bottom. Some Amanah leaders, when they came to Perlis, didn’t even know there’s a Padang Besar branch,” he said to laughter from the hall.

"This is due to poor communication. This is not good when the public looks at us, we look disorganised. To improve these types of perceptions from the public, we need more meet-ups and that personal touch, which is severely lacking now,” he said.

Several other members echoed Mohamad Saad’s sentiment and compared it to the party’s ally Umno where branch chiefs were notified when the party president was coming to their towns.

"They would sit together beside their president whenever there is any event, even ministerial events,” said Melaka branch deputy chairman Datuk Mohd Sofi Wahab.

Mohd Sofi added that the party leadership also needs clear metrics to make it easy to monitor progress or lack of it.

He said Amanah must have proper plans, the right people to implement these, and make sure to see them all the way through.

In his closing remarks, Vice-president Adly Zahari said Amanah ministers and deputy ministers appoint a government officer to notify the branches and let them know that they are coming as the grassroots are the party’s eyes and ears.

Mohamad Sabu still the man to lead

Mohamad Sabu was once again appointed as party president, but this would be his third and final term as the party constitution stipulates that an individual may only hold the post of party president for three consecutive terms.

The appointment was anticipated by several parties including political observers.

Analysts had said that Mohamad Sabu is the man that Amanah needs to steer the party in a unity government.

The Kota Raja MP admitted that he was not a popular choice in the votes as he came seventh in the 2019 party election and eighth in the latest one, but he said he is ready to lead the party as he trusts the decision made by the 27 committee members.

Senator Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof Rawa was appointed as the new deputy president.

The position was vacant following the death of Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub in July.

The three vice-presidents appointed are Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Seri Serdang state assemblyman Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud and deputy defence minister Adly Zahari.

According to the party constitution, the top five positions in Amanah are decided by the 27 members of the party’s national committee, who are elected by party delegates at the national level.