The Malaysian Insight

PAS grassroots leaders have rallied behind their party colleague Takiyuddin Hassan, who is under fire for allegedly treacherous behaviour against the king, who has expressed disappointment in him and the Perikatan Nasional government for going against his royal wishes.

They said that the PAS secretary-general does not need to heed the calls for his resignation from the Prime Minister’s Department, where Takiyuddin is a minister.

The party leaders blamed the opposition for amplifying the issue and causing public sentiment to swing  against Takiyuddin.

They also said Takiyuddin’s actions were not as bad as Pakatan Harapan’s act of going against the wishes of the Malay rulers, including by agreeing to rectify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) when they were in power.

Johor PAS information chief Rusman Kemin said PH’s insistence on the ratification of ICERD was a more rebellious act than Takiyuddin’s announcement of revocation of laws without the king’s assent.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s constitutional amendment in the 1990s to limit the immunity of rulers was also more serious, Rusman said.

He added that the issue of Takiyuddin’s actions had been played up by the opposition on social media.

“If we want to make a comparison, let’s look at ICERD. And then we had Dr Mahathir himself amending the constitution to limit the immunity of rulers.

“That was another big issue but at the time there was no social media.

“But now because (the issue involving Takiyuddin) has been magnified by the opposition, it appears to be a huge scandal,” Rusman said.

“The matter has been politicised by the opposition, an allegation of rebellion which did not happen.

“However, because the issue is politicised and shared on social media, people have been influenced.

“Those who accuse the government of treason, they are the real rebels as their actions in the past show.”

Takiyuddin is in the spotlight for his role in preventing the emergency ordinances from being tabled and debated in the Dewan Rakyat as ordered by the king.

He had announced in the Dewan Rakyat on July 26 – the first day of the five-day special sitting – that the government had revoked the ordinances on July 21, thus there was no need to debate them.

Following the announcement, the Agong issued a statement saying he was disappointed in the government’s decision, and that he had specifically informed Takiyuddin that he wanted the matter to be debated.

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah said the government’s actions had also violated the principles of the rukun negara and the federal constitution.

The opposition, meanwhile, has charged the government with treason in going against the wishes of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. They are calling for Takiyuddin and Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s resignation.

Crisis won’t end if Takiyuddin quits

Rusman said PAS would be explaining the situation to its members so that they are not influenced by the opposition’s demand for Takiyuddin to resign.

“We will make a general statement, but so far no PAS member has asked Takiyuddin to resign.

“There is no issue of Takiyuddin having to resign, only the opposition has said he must resign.

“PAS members as a whole understand this issue and there is no negative feeling towards the leadership to ask for resignation, they are not so easily offended,” said Rusman.

A PAS member in Kedah, Halim Kamaruddin, meanwhile opined that the constitutional crisis would not be solved with Takiyuddin’s resignation.

“In a situation where the Covid-19 is still serious, it is more important for all parties to set aside political issues at this time.

“This is not the time to play politics. This is a time when people are forced to sacrifice lost friends and lost lives. All sorts of things are happening.

“It’s better to come up with a good idea (to solve the Covid-19 pandemic). The idea of resigning doesn’t solve the problem.

“It means there is no need to press (Takiyuddin) to resign,” he said.

Kedah PAS committee member Mohd Hilmi Abdul Wahab also claimed that the demand for Takiyuddin to resign was just a political game from the opposition.

He said the majority of PAS grassroots members considered Takiyuddin’s explanation on the revocation to be in accordance with the law.

“Takiyuddin, he is a legal expert, and the Agong has the right to state his views. Similarly, the attorney-general makes his own interpretations according to his capacity,” he said.

He added that Takiyuddin should not be denounced as a traitor and the title should be given to the opposition for backing the protest near Dataran Merdeka on Saturday.

“Why is the opposition not making noise about the protest at Dataran Merdeka? Why are they not making noise? They protested when the Covid-19 case reached 17,000 (a day).

“And this demonstration was also orchestrated by the opposition. They are traitors. Not Takiyuddin,” he said.

He was referring to the #Lawan rally on Saturday which was attended by more than 1,000 young people to protest the government’s failure to tackle the Covid-19 crisis.

Takiyuddin promised to clarify the issue of the revocation of the six emergency ordinances in today’s sitting, which has since been cancelled.

The PM ordered the sitting to be postponed because of a Covid-19 outbreak in parliament. – August 2, 2021.