It is not for PAS or any other political party to say whether the DAP should abide by the decision of the ROS or not.

PAS, the party that once championed the cause of Malay-Muslims in the country and sought to portray itself as an alternative to Umno, is in a very pathetic situation. Few "bread crumbs" thrown at the leadership have meant that the party has forgotten the sacrifices of their past leaders to become a mere appendage of Umno. Today, PAS is remembered for its "past" rather than the "present".

Why should the DAP be afraid of holding elections? Perhaps PAS vice-president Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah should be questioning the ROS why it had not sent an official letter to the DAP to say what was wrong with Central Executive Committee elections in 2013.

Surely Mohd Amar knows that the ROS preferred to make an announcement on the DAP in the media rather than conveying its decision by an official letter. When the ROS faulted the 2012 DAP CEC elections and directed the party to hold fresh ones, this was complied by way of elections to the CEC in 2013.

If Mohd Amar is so concerned about laws and regulations, he should be advising the ROS to write an official letter to the DAP rather than wasting time by playing politics with the ROS' decision. I am sure that PAS and many other political parties that are closely aligned with Umno, might be "overjoyed" with the decision taken by the ROS last week.

PAS should understand that DAP is not afraid of holding elections. If the party has done something wrong, it only behooves on the part of the ROS to convey such wrong doings in an official and professional manner.

Why is there the need to consult the Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi before the announcement was made to the public? Why did Zahid support the decision of the ROS saying that if the DAP did not hold fresh polls than it stood the chance of being deregistered? Why was there a necessity for Zahid to warn the DAP?

Zahid, due to internal problems within Umno was trying to give the impression that he was "doing a favour" for the DAP by giving it a chance to "repent" by way of fresh polls rather than face the prospect of an outright de-registration. Who was he trying to fool?

If the DAP has friends in persons like Zahid, then there is no need for enemies!

I don't think that PAS leader Mohd Amar is that naive but surely there is more to the recent cohesion between his party and Umno. Whether PAS leaders have swallowed "dedak" from Umno is something that needs to be investigated, although much talked about in the country.

The non-Malay political parties that have lost their electoral strength amongst the non-Malays have reasons to be "overjoyed" by the decision of the ROS. There is thinking if the ROS could put DAP out of action, then there is a chance that these political parties could regain their strength amongst non-Malays in the country.

Although such thinking is completely delusional or irrational, it is understandable given the poor and tragic situation of non-Malay political parties, particularly those within the fold of the BN.

Once again let me reiterate, the DAP is not afraid to hold fresh polls in the near future, but at least the ROS should have the simple and common courtesy of conveying its decision to the party by way of an official letter. Is this asking too much?

Perhaps senior politicians like Mohd Amar of PAS could "assist" DAP on this matter by giving the right advice to ROS or his buddies in Umno. I am sure "dedak" has not completely ruined his usefulness!

P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the state assemblyperson for Perai.

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