Fahmi, who is also the PKR communications director, questioned whether PAS, which is contesting under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) banner alongside Bersatu and Gerakan in the Melaka polls, would impose similar restrictions if it won.
He contended that coupled with the communist ideology remark by PAS central committee member Kamaruzaman Mohamad on Sunday, the gaming ban served as a reminder of what would happen under an administration that consisted of the Islamist party.
Leaders from both sides of the political divide, including from MCA and MIC, have slammed the Kedah government’s decision to ban gaming outlets in the state by not renewing their business licences.
“The question I am asking the voters in Melaka is, is PAS intending to do the same in the state if it comes to power?” Fahmi said in an online press conference held in Parliament today.
“PAS needs to stop using religion as a political gimmick and, as mentioned by Hulu Langat MP (Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus) just now, the party must stop being hypocritical and stop spreading false information.”
Kamaruzaman had claimed during a PN ceramah in Melaka that Pakatan Harapan (PH) was promoting communist ideology, and thus the voters should not give it the mandate in the state election.
He said the people should reject the opposition coalition based on its past record, such as the push to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and “promoting” communism.
Earlier, at the press conference in Parliament, Hasanuddin told PAS to retract the statement, adding that it had resorted to a smear campaign because it had run out of ideas in the Melaka polls.
Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng called PAS a party that “lies” and “a hypocrite”.
“Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, when he was the Umno advisory council chairman previously, called PAS a ‘political prostitute’. Did they (PAS) take legal action against him?” he asked.
“I won’t call PAS as such but will label it a party that lies and (is a) first-class ‘munafik’ (hypocrite). All I know is they are now ‘sleeping in a room’ with political parties like MCA, MIC and Gerakan,” Lim said.
Fahmi said PAS’ claim that PH was promoting communist ideology was inaccurate, and listed instances where PAS leaders had lost in defamation suits since 2017.
He said the party members had to pay large sums of money as a result, which showed that PAS’ accusations were usually proven to be false.
“Maybe PAS has to ask its partner Barisan Nasional (BN) because as I recall, the coalition established a relationship with a communist party in 2017,” he said, referring to a closed-door meeting between BN and the Communist Party of China that year.
“About ICERD, the one who brought up the proposal was from PN itself, which is Bersatu. So, Kamaruzaman should ask about the matter with the foreign minister then, who is still the foreign minister now,” he said.