Tuesday, 22 January 2013 11:47

LOSING HIS TOUCH? Anwar speaking to the crowd at the Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat gathering in Stadium Merdeka on Jan 12. It was observed that the crowd began leaving the moment the PKR de facto leader took the stage. Pic: Faisol MustafaALOR GAJAH: Umno supreme council member Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi has urged PAS to issue an official statement on why party members appeared to have walked out when Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was about to speak at the Jan 12 rally at Stadium Merdeka.

"PAS leaders should make a statement explaining why (this) occurred.

"Was it due to the fact that members do not trust in Anwar's leadership and would rather see PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang as prime minister (if the opposition won the general election)?

"They should clear the air regarding this."

Puad said that since joining Pakatan Rakyat, PAS had become the coalition's puppet, acquiescing to decisions made by PKR and DAP, even if they contravened the party's Islamic values.

"The (alleged) walkout may have been an indication that members are fed up with the party's constant capitulation to mandates made by PKR and DAP."

Puad said the PAS Syura Council's ruling prohibiting non-Muslims from using the word "Allah" was another indicator that PAS was getting tired of being bullied, as it was an about-turn from its earlier stand to allow the use of the word in the Bahasa Malaysia translation of the Bible.

Puad, who is also deputy education minister, said this after paying a visit to the Malacca Matriculation College in Londang, near here, yesterday, where he made a physical audit on the condition of the college's facilities and met students.

Puad announced that an allocation of RM1 million would be given to the college for maintenance and upgrading.

"This college is more than a decade old, so the allocation will be used to fix it up, particularly pipes and wiring in its residential blocks, so that students can study in a safe and comfortable environment."

Regarding the alleged distribution of copies of the Bible in a secondary school in Penang on Friday, Puad said the ministry would leave the matter to the police.

"The police are carrying out investigations into the incident and, if need be, we hope they will take action against the perpetrators.

"Besides that, we ask teachers to keep an eye on what happens in schools to prevent similar incidents from happening again."