Accused of slander, PAS chief Hadi says will prove DAP’s communism links in court

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 — PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang said he will not apologise or retract his provocative claims that the DAP is a communist party, Berita Harian reported today.

The Islamist politician who is being investigated by the police added that he has proof to support his assertion and will produce it in court.

“I will not apologise or retract.

“See you in court. I can show proof,” he was quoted saying after a get-together in the city this afternoon while campaigning for the 15th general election.

He reportedly said that it was good that the DAP had filed a police complaint against him so he could respond formally to the allegations that he is racist and had made defamatory remarks against the Pakatan Harapan (PH) component party.

The DAP had previously challenged Abdul Hadi to prove his claim that PH leaders were communists and were against the Malay monarchy system.

Abdul Hadi, who is seeking re-election in the Marang federal seat for the fourth straight term, also said that he had provided his testimony as well as the “proof” to federal police at Bukit Aman after being contacted for investigation following the DAP complaint.

He claimed the police had wanted to record his statement from his home, but he had opted to go to the national police headquarters instead.

He also claimed that the police officers who recorded his statement was ethnic Indian and not Malay, adding that “if it were Malay, it could possibly spark racial sentiments”.

Abdul Hadi also reportedly admitted that not all DAP leaders were influenced by the communist ideology, but said it was enough that PAS would not work with a party with such a “dangerous” political agenda.

“In PH, there are all sorts, communist and ex-communists. We still remember DAP leaders who asked to bring back the ashes of Chin Peng,” he was quoted saying, referring to the former secretary-general of the Malayan Communist Party, who died in exile in 2013, unable to return to the country where he was born even after signing a peace accord with the Barisan Nasional government to end a decades-long insurgency in 1989.

Abdul Hadi claimed that apart from communists, PH leaders were also liberals who would make halal that which is prohibited in Islam like the LGBT group, and “would take and give bribes”.

He claimed that it was because of DAP’s agenda that PAS chose to end the political pact, then called Pakatan Rakyat, that was forged in the wake of Election 2008.