Anwar said he has told Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional component parties to work to fend off any absurd propaganda made in the name of Islam.

“I told them we have to deal with this crazy race and religious bigotry (narrative),” he told reporters at Qurban Perdana Madani at Permatang Pauh.

Anwar was responding to a question on the unity coalition’s ability to weather the green wave, spearheaded by PAS.

He said PAS has gone down a “preposterous” path, by peddling claims of prophets arriving in Kedah, with the Islamic party’s ulama faction not batting an eyelid.

Anwar said such heresy was being tolerated out of ignorance.

“If you are really committed to the teachings of Islam, you wouldn’t allow this.”

Anwar said PAS’ spurious claim that those against the party were “enemies of Islam” was dangerous for the country.

“When we counter this, what do they say? ‘Why can’t we talk about race?’ This takes courage (from the unity government) to address,” he said.

Anwar said the notion of the “green wave” was crude and something he would not buy into outright.

“I don’t buy this … crack, but crack is a crude word … this narrative about the green wave. It is also about the failure to address some concerns,” he said, likely in reference to the loss of key PH seats on mainland Penang to Perikatan Nasional.

“It is a failure to counter effectively the incessant propaganda using the race card and religious bigotry,” he said, adding that retaking his ‘home’ seat of Permatang Pauh was up to the will of God.

“We have got to win, God willing,” he said.

The Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat has been held by Anwar and his family since 1982.

At the 2022 general election, however, the seat was won by Fawwaz Jan of PAS on a Perikatan Nasional ticket.

We are live on Telegram, subscribe here for breaking news and the latest announcements.