SHAH ALAM, 12 Mar: PAS’ long experience in the country’s political arena makes it impossible for the party to join Barisan Nasional (BN), as happened in 1973.
Claims that PAS is the easiest party to be baited to cooperate with Umno compared to other Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties is also not based on actual facts.
The Selangor PAS Commissioner, Datuk Iskandar Abd Samad, said that many PAS leaders and members were oppressed, persecuted and murdered when they were with BN from 1973 to 1977.
“Among the three PR parties, leaders and members of PAS were the most oppressed and persecuted by Umno-BN.
“Not only were PAS leaders jailed and killed, but PAS members at the grassroots were also denied rights as citizens and were oppressed and persecuted.
“The Mamali incident that killed PAS members is still fresh in our memories,” he said in a press statement today.
He said that the farmers who supported PAS were also often denied assistance such as fertiliser subsidies, while villages that strongly supported PAS were not given tarred roads.
“Teachers found supporting PAS were transferred to Sabah and Sarawak or fired. Stalls found supporting PAS were also demolished,” he said.
Iskandar said that propaganda that PAS is supposedly easily enticed by Umno is being deliberately spread by certain parties as part of a strategy to topple certain leaders in the party.
NS
