COMMENT | Two days ago, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan gave a press conference saying there was a plot to oust Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad via a vote of no-confidence in Parliament.

He said that two parties within Pakatan Harapan are involved in the plot, but when asked, refused to mention the parties involved.

He added that PAS has given a written statement to Mahathir pledging the support of the PAS' members of Parliament in case there was such a move against the prime minister.

If there is a plot being hatched against Mahathir, Takiyuddin should name the parties involved and not keep matters hanging in the air.

The failure on the part of PAS leaders not to mention names and give other details about the possible plot has merely served to undermine further the credibility of PAS.

As though PAS receiving corrupt money was not enough, their party leaders now have to resort to cheap antics to show the party's relevance to Malaysian politics.

They have emerged as sudden saviours of Mahathir. I think the prime minister might be having a good laugh at the childish and irresponsible antics of PAS leaders.

However, even if PAS cannot be taken seriously under the present circumstances, the allegation that there might be a coup against Mahathir is something serious and warrants an investigation.

However, the timing of the press conference by the PAS leaders raises questions about the true intention of PAS.

The party is at the lowest point in its political journey. PAS leaders have been discredited for receiving funds to the amount of RM90 million from Umno before the last general election.

More than this, some of their leaders have indulged in purchasing luxury cars and houses from funds ostensibly from Umno.

The question of whether PAS received the money from Umno has been settled. The out-of-court settlement by PAS, in the defamation suit against Clare Rewcastle Brown in an Engish court, has affirmed that the party had received funds to assist Umno in the last general election.

There is real fear within PAS circles that this act of corruption might not go down well with the various authorities under the Harapan government. There is fear that the MACC might arrest some of its leaders and charge them with corruption.

Not the least, the party might have contravened election rules and is facing the possibility of de-registration.

Lying for political survival

In the recent Cameron Highlands by-election, it was the support of PAS for the Umno candidate that resulted in a BN victory. This support for Umno has not gone down well with Harapan leaders, including Mahathir.

In the coming by-election for Semenyih, there is a feeling that Umno with PAS might snatch a victory against the Harapan candidate.

The withdrawal of the court case in the UK has tarnished the image of PAS as a clean and responsible Islamic party.

The confession by its central committee member Nik Abduh Nik Aziz has merely confirmed that if circumstances require, PAS leaders are no different from others in lying and concealing facts.

Nobody pushed the party into a corner; it was the doing of its own leaders under its president Abdul Hadi Awang. It was the internal rot that has reduced the party to a position of nothing in the present political environment.

This would explain why in a meeting with Mahathir, Hadi said that Umno would go it alone in the Semenyih by-election without PAS support. However, whether this is true or not, has yet to be ascertained.

I don't think Hadi would have met Mahathir without the cloud of the court settlement and the audio confession by Nik Abduh.

The meeting was basically to placate Mahathir and to forestall any attempt on the part of the MACC to take action against PAS leaders. This was why PAS gave the lukewarm assurance of withdrawing its support for Umno in the coming by-election in Semenyih.

Then a few days after Hadi's meeting with Mahathir, Takiyuddin gave the assurance to Mahathir that PAS members of Parliament would support the prime minister in case there was a move against him in the august House.

If things are added up, it would be clear that PAS is one desperate political party. Despite its religious front, its party leaders are no different from other corrupt leaders in the country.

For political survival, the party leaders will go to any length to lie, deny and even engage in corrupt acts.

Unless PAS leaders can come out with proof about those involved in the alleged plot against Mahathir, they cannot be taken seriously in this country anymore.

P RAMASAMY is Penang deputy chief minister (II) and state assemblyperson for Perai.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.