(June 1): PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu has threatened to sue national news agency Bernama, Utusan Malaysia and Sinar Harian for distorting his speech in Tumpat, Kelantan last Friday.

Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu said that the report titled “Mat Sabu sindir kepimpinan Abdul Hadi” reported by Bernama, then published in Utusan Malaysia and Sinar Harian, was done in bad faith and meant to sully his image as well as cause a break-up within PAS in the run-up to its assembly this week.

"I challenge them to show the full transcript.

"What I meant was that it was important for PAS to remain in a coalition to bring down Barisan Nasional," Mat Sabu told The Malaysian Insider in Kuala Lumpur today.

Yesterday, both Malay dailies published the news on their front pages.

The report said the crisis between the two factions in PAS was seen to be growing in the run-up to the party elections, and that Mat Sabu was becoming more vocal in criticising the party leadership under president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Mat Sabu said he never meant to mock Hadi and that PAS’s position today was the result of a political study conducted by former president Datuk Fadzil Noor in support of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after he was sacked in 1998.

"As strong as the speeches in PAS were to draw in the crowds, where tens of thousands attended one such speech in Jerai in 1986 after the Memali incident, when it came to the elections, we only won three state seats.

"This was because the Chinese and Indians were still not willing to vote for PAS," he said.

Instead, he said that in the 1990 general election, PAS managed to win over Kelantan when they partnered with Parti Melayu Semangat 46.

"In 2008, when PAS teamed up with PKR and DAP and was supported by NGOs, we managed to conquer Kedah under the leadership of Tan Sri Azizan Razak.

"That means even with someone as great as Fadzil Noor, if PAS went on its own, we would not have won in Kedah," said Mat Sabu who will be challenged by Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man in the upcoming party elections this week.

He added that he had always brought up this issue in closed-door and public events, and many PAS leaders and members were aware of his stand on the importance of being in the Pakatan Rakyat coalition.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said today that no delegate had submitted a motion to leave the coalition.

Mustafa added that this effectively closed off any speculation that the Islamist party would leave Pakatan.

"Such a decision would not be taken at this muktamar and there is no room to say PR will break up because of what will happen at the mukamar," he said at a press conference at the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur earlier today. – The Malaysian Insider