MUAR: Malaysia is about to witness a new political coalition after 18 PAS leaders who were ousted in the recent party elections began their nationwide tour in Muar, Johor, on Tuesday night with the aim of listening to the grass roots on which direction they are to take.

The group, dubbed G18, congregated at a hotel around 6pm on Tuesday for a meeting, and from 9pm to midnight, they gave speeches to some 3,000 supporters, who cried out for a new party to be established. 

All but two of the 18 attended the meeting. Datuk Husam Musa was unwell and Dr Syed Azman Ahmad Nawawi was overseas.

Those who attended included former deputy president Mohamad Sabu, also known as Mat Sabu, former vice-president Salahudin Ayub, former information chief Datuk Mahfuz Omar, former treasurer Asmuni Awi, former election director Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli, and former central committee members Datuk Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaludin, Mohamed Hanipa Maidin, Khalid Abdul Samad, Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar and Zulkefly Mohamad Omar.

The gathering was engineered by Mazlan Aliman, the sole member of the progressive faction to win a post in the new PAS central committee. He, however, resigned from his position on Monday.

At the time when the group was in Johor, the party election winners had also gathered in Rusila, Marang, Terengganu.

However, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang was overseas, while his deputy Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had his own programme in Jengka, Pahang.

“I am confident that this new political coalition will begin in the south and go up to the north. Johor will be the place where this new era of struggle will begin,” said Mat Sabu, the most senior leader in the G18.

Mat Sabu said at a press conference later that the group will wait to see what new parties would be set up first.

“We haven’t thought of a new party yet; we will see what the support of the people is like first towards the few choices we have, like setting up a new party, continuing with the current one, being an NGO (non-governmental organisation) or joining a party that is already there,” he said.

The group is planning a nationwide roadshow, and after the gathering in Muar, its next stop will be Temerloh, Pahang, on June 26, where it intends to hear what supporters there want.

Mujahid, when met by The Malaysian Insider, was confident that the new movement will involve those who have similar ambitions to take over Putrajaya.

“We will make sure that all are on the same page for this fight,” he said.

Besides G18, another group interested in this initiative is Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia, a PAS splinter group that has made a decision to set up a new party.

Ikram Malaysia is also understood to have stated its interest to join forces besides Wadah, another NGO with former senior leaders of the Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia.

One of G18’s biggest hurdles would be how to convince some one million PAS members to be with it and support its efforts. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 18, 2015.