'No way a non-Malay can lead Malay-Muslims,' Penang PAS slams Lau
Malaysiakini Team
Published: Sep 15, 2025 5:35 PM
Updated: 7:37 PM
PAS MUKTAMAR | Penang PAS wants the party to contest all Malay-majority state seats in Penang in the next state polls.
Its delegate Hafis Alias slammed Perikatan Nasional's decision to field Gerakan president Dominic Lau at the Bayan Lepas state seat during the 2023 state election.
The Penang PAS Youth deputy chief described the move as a lost opportunity after an Amanah candidate defeated Lau.
"(This is) because the majority of the voters there are Malays. No way a non-Malay can lead the Malay-Muslims," Hafis (above) said when debating PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's policy speech at the party's 71st muktamar in Kedah today.
For the record, Lau lost the race to Amanah's Azrul Mahathir Aziz, who secured 15,462 votes to win with a 1,889 majority.
The seat had a total of 39,754 eligible voters, of which 63.2 percent were Malays, followed by Chinese (30.2 percent), and Indians (5.7 percent).
‘Why is Gerakan not gentlemanly?’
Hafis further criticised Gerakan for choosing to contest in a Malay-majority constituency.
He said Penang has a total of 40 state seats and only 15 of them are Malay-majority areas.
Gerakan president Dominic Lau
"Why are they (Gerakan) not as gentlemanly as our friends in DHPP (PAS Non-Muslim Supporters Wing)?" the PAS leader added, pointing to several DHPP candidates who had contested in non-Malay areas during the election.
The Bayan Lepas seat had been a point of contention between PAS and Gerakan ever since PN leadership decided to nominate Lau as their candidate.
Bayan Lepas PAS members had staged a protest against Lau and threatened to boycott him, saying that Bayan Lepas has been a PAS seat since the 12th general election and that voters there want a Malay candidate.
Hafis also claimed that Lau did not play his role as Penang PN chief and had allegedly ignored the coalition's state assemblypersons.
This was the second time a PAS delegate had raised an issue against Lau during the muktamar.
On Saturday, Penang PAS Ulama delegate Shafirul Rozani claimed Lau had failed to lead the state PN.
"Why are they (Gerakan) not as gentlemanly as our friends in DHPP (PAS Non-Muslim Supporters Wing)?" the PAS leader added, pointing to several DHPP candidates who had contested in non-Malay areas during the election.
The Bayan Lepas seat had been a point of contention between PAS and Gerakan ever since PN leadership decided to nominate Lau as their candidate.
Bayan Lepas PAS members had staged a protest against Lau and threatened to boycott him, saying that Bayan Lepas has been a PAS seat since the 12th general election and that voters there want a Malay candidate.
Hafis also claimed that Lau did not play his role as Penang PN chief and had allegedly ignored the coalition's state assemblypersons.
This was the second time a PAS delegate had raised an issue against Lau during the muktamar.
On Saturday, Penang PAS Ulama delegate Shafirul Rozani claimed Lau had failed to lead the state PN.
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