VELL-y FIRE-y Raptor-ish Chunky Chubby C11byebye Big-Headed Moolah-Crazy Muddy-River-er Fei-Lo wants to be a PAS VP

Contest for PAS VP race heats up, controversial figures jump into the fray

The PAS election is heating up with five candidates vying for the party's three vice-president positions.

The three incumbents - Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Abdullah and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Religious Affairs) Idris Ahmad - will be defending their positions.

However, they will face a challenge from two newcomers, namely Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor and party strategist Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki. Both have had a colourful history.

Sanusi's tenure as the Kedah menteri besar is marked by his combative approach towards neighbouring state Penang.

He had, among others, demanded payment from Penang for water treatment, failing which he threatened to turn water supplied by Kedah to Penang "muddy".

He had also demanded RM100 million a year from the federal government - 10 percent the size of Kedah's budget in 2021 - for the lease of land for Penang island and Seberang Prai instead of the present annual sum of RM10,000.

Meanwhile, Zuhdi was a high-profile figure prior to the 2018 general election where he advocated a three-cornered fight strategy nationwide between PAS, BN and Pakatan Harapan, believing that the Islamist party can become a kingmaker.



PAS strategist Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki

While PAS made substantial gains in the 2018 general election, winning 18 seats, Harapan emerged victorious although the government was short-lived.

Zuhdi is also known to be combative, having lashed out at an elderly man at a forum audience in 2018 for being "rusty-minded" (otak karat) for questioning PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.

More recently, Zuhdi contradicted PN chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin about PAS agreeing to use the coalition's logo in the Malacca polls.

This was amid a tussle between pro-Umno and pro-PN forces in PAS. Umno has offered cooperation to PAS on the condition that PAS contests under its own logo.

Some PAS leaders have been unhappy at Hadi's insistence in maintaining close ties with Bersatu, believing that Umno was the better partner although none have dared to challenge him publicly.

PAS will be holding its general assembly (muktamar) on Nov 6-7 where elections for party leadership will be held.

There will be no contest for the top two posts - president and deputy president - which is being held by Hadi and Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man respectively.

The party had in March sought to postpone its elections to after the next general election but this was rejected by the Registrar of Societies.