KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Amid preparations to celebrate Deepavali, the Hindu festival to mark the triumph of good over evil, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang today warned Malaysians of an “iblis” within the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition.

“Iblis” is an Islamic reference to the leader of devils.

In a short video posted on his official Facebook page, Abdul Hadi went on a vituperative outburst against his former political allies-turned-adversaries, saying the PH government made attempts to Islam, insulted the country’s constitutional monarchy system, and even went beyond being communist sympathisers to leading the revolution during its 22-month rule from May 2018 to February 2020.

He cited the controversial move to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and the Rome Statute when PH was in Putrajaya to support his assertion, though those were later cancelled.

“It happened during PH rule.

“There's an iblis there. This is what happened,” he said in the video titled in Malay as “Iblis dalam Pakatan Harapan”.

But Abdul Hadi did not elaborate on the identity of the “iblis”, whether it was a person or a party.

The PH government reversed its plans to ratify the ICERD in late 2018 after PAS and Umno kicked up a fuss, claiming that the treaty that had been recognised by over 156 governments worldwide would jeopardise the status of Islam and “special” Bumiputera rights.

More than 50,000 Malaysians turned up for a street protest organised by PAS and Umno on December 8, 2018.

The Islamist PAS has been stepping up its vilification of PH in the run-up to the 15th general election.

In a sermon on October 16, Hadi accused PH of harbouring communists, anti-monarchists, supporters of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, and those involved in bribery.

He did not provide any proof behind his allegations.

PAS is a part of Perikatan Nasional coalition together with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, Gerakan and two Sabah component parties.

Malaysia will vote in a new government on November 19.