Difficult to dislodge PAS from rural seats, says PKR man

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GEORGE TOWN – It will be difficult to dislodge PAS from its hold on rural Malaysia as the national unity bloc of Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) has not paid adequate attention to grassroots politics, said a former PKR senior leader. 

This means PAS’ hold on rural Malaysian politics is here to stay for a foreseeable future unless PH-BN goes back to the basics, said Penang PKR’s Jason Ong.

Both PH and BN were born out of grassroots activism but over the past decades, in particular, PH, has become rigid and bureaucratic after tasting power since 2018, he said.

It is made even more complicated as PAS is the only party in the country to have resorted to fielding religious figures (ulama) as candidates, unlike other parties including PKR.

“Imagine if Christians have fielded pastors or Buddhists with their monks or Hindus with their high priests. The followers of such religions would be inclined to support their religious officials. The same applies to Muslims,” said Ong, a former Penang PKR vice-chairman.

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