Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi said PAS’s problem lies in its inconsistency in the positions it takes.
“Mokhtar has forgotten that Hadi himself previously said the practice of proposing a prime minister candidate prematurely does not align with Prophet Muhammad’s teachings. But this is exactly what the party is doing now,” Puad said in a Facebook post.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that Mokhtar had listed the qualities needed for a leader of a nation and suggested that Hadi had what it takes to be the opposition’s prime ministerial candidate for the next general election.
Puad said the inconsistent stances taken by PAS were the reason the now-defunct Muafakat Nasional alliance with Umno never worked out.
“What PAS says today is different from what they will say tomorrow. It wouldn’t be surprising if PAS ends up saying it’s fine to be friends with Israel, just as they once did with DAP,” he said.
Puad said that even if Malaysians wanted an Islamic government, Hadi is not fit to be the prime minister.
“If his ‘fatwas’ can change so easily, there’s concern that economic and administrative policies will also be subject to constant flip-flopping, leaving the people confused,” he said.
Previously, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu made a mockery of PAS’s show of support for former prime minister Najib Razak in his pursuit to compel the government to execute a royal addendum allowing him to be put under house arrest, describing it as one of the Islamic party’s flip-flopping “political fatwas”.
PAS spiritual leader Hashim Jasin had argued last November that his party was best suited to lead PN due to its larger number of parliamentary representatives and robust grassroots machinery.
However, Bersatu vice-president Ahmad Faizal Azumu said PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin remained the coalition’s sole candidate for the position of prime minister.
Gerakan president Dominic Lau had also said the qualifications for prime minister should not be limited to a party’s parliamentary seats or strength of grassroots support.