PAS can’t call others corrupt when it’s chums with Umno, Khalid Samad says

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 16 — PAS has no standing to accuse others of immorality when the party openly consorted with those already known to be corrupt, said Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) communications chief Khalid Abdul Samad.

In a statement today, he said PAS should be spurning instead of allying with those such as Umno as Muslims were taught to reject corruption and despise the corrupt.

“PAS should also reject the practice of receiving offers for positions in order to gain support for power, as what happened during the formation of the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, because it is a form of corruption and is immoral,” the Shah Alam MP said.

Responding to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang who yesterday claimed Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders were openly “faithless” and “lack morals” for associating with the corrupt, Khalid said this was pure projection.

Khalid also accused Hadi of trying to deflect attention away from allegations of political corruption against his party.

“What’s more, it was made when the Sarawak Report insisted that it had evidence of PAS receiving money from Umno and also Abdul Hadi’s action in withdrawing his suit against the Sarawak Report,” Khalid added.

The Amanah lawmaker argued that during the PH administration, the Governance, Integrity and Anti-Corruption Centre (GIACC) was also established to improve the country’s resilience against the menace of corruption.

He added that Malaysia had also achieved its highest position in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), reaching 51st out of 180 countries with 53 points, under the PH government in 2019.

“On the other hand, when PAS became part of the PN government in 2020, Malaysia received a lower score of 51 points falling to 57th place, and now continues to plummet in 2021 after receiving a score of 48 and being ranked 62nd out of 180 countries involved,” he went on to say.

Yesterday, Abdul Hadi said PAS was right to reject PH after alleging the coalition’s leaders to be “clearly anti-Islamic, threatening the monarchy, the nation’s pillar, and the foundations of the Federal Constitution, especially on Islam as the religion of the federation.”

“In fact, there are also those who fanatically hate the Malays and Bumiputeras, without realising that the existing rights of other religions and various races have been sufficiently provided for,” he said.