GEORGE TOWN: A group of progressive PAS leaders are looking at the possibility of “rebranding” an existing political party, if the new party they plan to set up faces registration problems, said a former PAS central committee member.

Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa said the obvious way is to set up a new party, but if the Registrar of Societies (RoS) is rigid in its procedures, the group will find other ways to go about it.

“We can consider taking over an existing party, sending in an application to the RoS to change its name, logo and mission.

“But we should not be facing problems [to have the new party registered],” he told reporters at his office in Parit Buntar yesterday.

The move would mirror what PKR did when its president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had trouble registering Pergerakan Keadilan Sosial as a political party in the late 1990s, after Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was jailed.

The Reformasi movement took over a small party called Ikatan Masyarakat Islam Malaysia and launched it as PKR in April 1999, just in time for the general election that year.

Mujahid and a group of progressive PAS leaders ousted from their positions in the Islamist party, which is now dominated by the conservative ulama faction, are considering a new party as an alternative to PAS, building a new opposition coalition to replace the defunct Pakatan Rakyat.

On why they would go through the trouble of setting up a new party instead of just joining DAP or PKR, Mujahid said there is a need to look at a greater purpose and not their personal survival in politics.

“This is not about joining other parties for political survival, but about bringing new politics to this nation. We must have a bigger heart to pave the way towards a new agenda.

“We are seeing this common interest in other parties. Pakatan may be dead, but we have to preserve its spirit and substance.”

Mujahid said the new party does not have a name yet, as they are still gathering support and mobilising the power of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that share the vision of the progressive leaders.

He said, however, it is casually being referred to as the “new hope” or “xin xi wang”, which is the Mandarin equivalent.

Mujahid said the “new hope” movement had now grown larger than just the 18 of them and PAS splinter group Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia, which was formed last year.

He said that with them are also NGOs like Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia and Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia, institutions and activists that share their vision and aspirations.

It is also known that the progressive members have been going around to talk to notable people, like former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, former deputy higher education minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah and even former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Mujahid said the movement is pressing forward, and it is possible that the result of their efforts will be more visible after the coming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on July 10, 2015.