KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat will not be able to function properly as a coalition if  PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang continues to skip leadership council meetings, says DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng. Guan Eng, who reiterated DAP’s reasoning for wanting Abdul Hadi to attend the meetings, said the PAS leader’s absence will cause PKR and DAP to play guessing games on which decisions would be vetoed by him.

In a statement yesterday, Guan Eng said it is untenable for Pakatan to operate in such a dysfunctional manner if it wants to convince the people it can replace Barisan Nasional.

“This is the reason why the DAP central executive committee will wait until Hadi is available to attend Pakatan Rakyat leadership council meetings,” Guan Eng said.

Last Thursday, PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar chastised DAP for insisting that Abdul Hadi, who is ill, attend Pakatan leadership council meetings. Mahfuz reportedly told its Pakatan partner to be “mindful” when making such statements.

Yesterday, Guan Eng pointed out that Abdul Hadi’s failure to attend meetings would not only negatively impact the public perception of PAS but also Pakatan as a whole. “We want to give the public full assurances that Pakatan decisions are made in good faith,” he said. “We want to demonstrate unequivocal intent to keep our promises and fulfil our commitments.”

Guan Eng said he regretted that PAS leaders had responded negatively to the issue. “Clearly, PAS misses the simple truth that the DAP CEC’s unanimous resolution for Hadi to attend leadership council meetings is to restore public trust and confidence in Pakatan.”

He said this is a reasonable request as Abdul Hadi is the only person in PAS with the sole authority to make decisions and he has absolute veto power. This absolute veto power includes decisions made by the PAS central committee. This makes Abdul Hadi’s presence in Pakatan leadership council meetings compulsory if Pakatan is to function in concert as a coalition, as well as ensure policy coherence and cohesion.

“I regret that PAS leaders have tried to distract attention from this simple truth by claiming that Pakatan can function even in Hadi’s absence,” Guan Eng said. “PAS leaders have also made untruthful claims that I attended Pakatan Rakyat leadership council meetings less than Hadi. PAS leaders should check their facts first whether Hadi had attended Pakatan Rakyat leadership council meetings more than I.”

Guan Eng stressed that the critical issue is not about Abdul Hadi’s or his attendance record, but whether the respective parties’ representatives are authorised to decide on the their behalf. Clearly only DAP and PKR representatives are authorised to do so, but Abdul Hadi is the only person with the authority in PAS.

“Hadi has displayed his full personal authority to override [the] PAS central committee’s decision during the Selangor MB crisis. “And Hadi restated his absolute authority during the PAS muktamar in Batu Pahat, without his declaration being challenged by anyone within PAS.”

Mahfuz is the second senior PAS leader to tick off DAP for pushing Hadi to attend the meetings.

PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali  told Guan Eng not to interfere in the affairs of other parties. He  said  the cooperation in Pakatan is between parties, not individuals, and if a comparison is made, Guan Eng had missed more meetings than Abdul Hadi since 2008. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on November 17, 2014.