Conservatives VS Reformist

The recent outburst of PAS spiritual leader calling for an EGM to replace what he described as "Problematic Leaders" so that once and for all PAS will know the direction it's heading shows how the friction between the conservatives and reformist has gotten worst. The outcome of this rift will determine the fate of the Islamist Party that it's past had shown various political positions from being a left-wing socialist during the Dr Burhanudin era to the nationalist era led by the late Ustaz Asri Muda,to the current Islamist stand or the Kepimpinan Ulama which engulfed the party in the 80's.

However looking from the Pakatan Rakyat's point of view,it is in the best interest of the pact to have a conservative PAS as it's partner as this will enable PAS to compete directly with UMNO for the Malay conservative votes.With PKR already well position,even to a certain extent monopolising the liberal Malay votes,having PAS compete in the Malay conservative votes is crucial as there are probably more Malays who are conservatives than those who are liberals,thus allowing Pakatan to garner a sizable Malay votes,ensuring them to be competitive in the rural Malay areas while maintaining the urban Malay areas the pact won in the 12th General Election.

The lost in Bagan Pinang is part of the cause of the outburst as one academician from International Islamic University,Dr Aziz Bari attributed the lost due to the the action of PAS Selangor chief in trying to ban alcohol sale and criticising the SELCAT initiative in Selangor as part of the reason for the lost,I beg to differ as many PAS supporters are angered by the fact that PAS seemed to be making more compromises than it should,and the Malay conservatives that are fed up with UMNO who supported PAS are disappointed as PAS which is the second largest Malay party seemed to abandon the Malay agenda central to most Malay conservatives,so the action of Dr Hassan Ali is much needed to assured those parties that PAS is serving them,thus ensuring their continuous support.

As long as the clandestine unity government talk is well explained or the issue close completely and trust among the Pakatan partners assured,the conservatives faction can play a significant role in the fight for the the Malay conservative votes which are central to UMNO's strenght,denying UMNO a strong showing in that voter section might weaken or destroy UMNO forever and place PAS as the dominant party representing both Islamic and Malay interest within Pakatan.

This potential for PAS must be exploited for the sake of Pakatan Rakyat chances to form the next federal government.The countdown till the next general election just got more interesting as the game has already begun.