MELAKA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) has challenged Pas president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang to present facts and evidence to support his criticism of the Confidence and Supply Agreement (CSA), instead of resorting to provocative language.
Melaka PH chairman Adly Zahari said differences of opinion over political arrangements should be debated based on the contents and implications of the agreement, rather than through the use of terms that did little to strengthen an argument.
He said PH agreed that the country’s wealth belonged to all Malaysians and that their welfare should not depend on their respective political affiliations.
However, he said, this principle should be distinguished from the issue of cooperation between the government and the opposition to ensure administrative stability.
“If there are any unfair clauses in the CSA, identify them. If any people’s rights have been denied, provide the evidence.
“Melaka PH welcomes constructive criticism and open scrutiny,” he said at a PH press conference at the coalition’s main operations room in Bukit Baru here today.
Adly said cross-party cooperation to ensure political stability was not new, but had also been implemented under the government led by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in 2021.
He was referring to the Memorandum of Understanding on Transformation and Political Stability signed between the government and PH on Sept 13, 2021.
He said Pas secretary-general at the time, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, had also described political cooperation, including the MoU, as a development that could benefit the country and the people.
Adly also questioned whether the change in stance towards such political cooperation stemmed from differences in principle or Pas’s position in the government.
“We respect your position as a religious and political leader. As such, we hope this debate will be conducted with the level of rigour it deserves.
“To debate a political agreement, I think it is sufficient to examine the document first before turning to end-of-the-world narratives,” he said.
Several news portals had earlier reported Abdul Hadi as using the term “Dajjal” to describe the CSA, raising questions about the use of such terminology in assessing mechanisms for political cooperation.