Malaysian politics are dirty and polluted enough without Mustafa having to leap into the swamp with lies and falsehoods to demonise and character-assassinate PAS progressives

Two days ago, I was surprised that the PAS President, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang was parroting the line of UMNO propagandists and cybertroopers accusing the DAP of being “chauvinistic” in wanting to have local government elections although the restoration of local government elections was in both the Pakatan Rakyat national manifesto and the Selangor PR state manifesto in the 13th General Elections.

Hadi also did not seem to know that local government elections are held in Indonesia, Turkey and Iran. Surely, Hadi is not suggesting that President Jokowi of Indonesia, President Erdogan of Turkey and former Iranian President Ahmadnejad are “communist” and “chauvinist”?

Today, I am shocked that another top PAS leader, former PAS Secretary-General Datuk Mustafa Ali is parroting another line of UMNO propagandists and cybertroopers that the new political party to be formed by PAS progressives will have a hard time making any headway as it is a DAP proxy and will not be trusted by the Malays.

Mustafa has himself admitted that this label of a DAP proxy had been used against PAS when PAS worked with DAP in Pakatan Rakyat.

Was PAS ever a DAP proxy and was it the reason PAS found it hard to get support from the Malays?

Don’t forget that at the same time that PAS was accused of being DAP proxy by UMNO in the Malay ground, DAP was accused of being a PAS stooge by MCA and Gerakan in the Chinese areas.

In fact, my defeat in Bukit Bendera parliamentary seat (as well as Karpal’s defeat in the Jelutong seat) in the 1999 general elections was because of the success of MCA/Gerakan “black” propaganda that by co-operating with PAS, we had become agents and stooges of PAS, that a vote for DAP was a vote for PAS and an Islamic state where there will be no pork, no alcohol, no temples, no churches, no karaokes, no Chinese schools, no lipsticks for women, women will have to cover their heads, beautiful women cannot find jobs and that there would be the chopping and hands and feet.

I lost (just as Karpal also lost) but we did not bow down to such sophistries and lies, as we had never compromised our political principles and objectives of the Malaysian Dream whether for lucre or office.

DAP leaders are not proxies of PAS, just as PAS leaders have never been proxies of DAP.

These are lies and falsehoods churned out by unprincipled and opportunistic politicians in UMNO, MCA and Gerakan to demonise and character-assassinate leaders in DAP and PAS.

Why should Mustafa now descend to the level of UMNO propagandists and cybertroopers to demonise and character-assassinate PAS progressives, seeking to transfer the “DAP proxy” label from PAS to the PAS progressives when Mustafa knew in his heart of hearts that these labels are without basis or substance, whether for PAS leaders or PAS progressives?

Malaysian politics are dirty and polluted enough without Mustafa having to leap into the swamp with lies and falsehoods to demonise and character-assassinate PAS progressives, who are still his comrade-in-arms in PAS.

Mustapha may disagree with PAS progressives about political and Islamic principles and approaches but the last thing he should do is to doubt the character, sincerity and integrity of PAS progressives.

Let us practise clean and honest politics even in the land of the corrupt and the decadent.