Kelantan state government is looking at a very long internal feud now that the ‘rebel leader’ Datuk Husam Musa had retained his vice-presidency and Deputy Mentri Besar Datuk Nik Amar Nik Abdullah failed to grab the deputy presidency post from incumbent Mohamed Sabu.
The ‘bitter’ Husam is not expected to slow down on his onslaught pinpointing weaknesses in the state led by Mentri Besar Datuk Ahmad Yakob, who deputy failed to unseat Mat Sabu in the just concluded party election.
Husam’s animosity with Ahmad began immediately after the May 5 general election when Ahmad did not pick Husam in the state exco line-up, cutting off his influence and anger his followers.
Before the state assembly begun in June, Husam’s followers had demonstrated at the State Secretariat demanding for Husam to be appointed as exco but Ahmad ignored the call.
In relation to the Kelantan debacle, PAS has been ‘living’ with two factions – liberals and fundamentalists – where the liberals have been trying to ‘worm’ into the leadership and move the party closer to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR and DAP.
Being closely associated with PKR supremo Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, the liberals had plenty of leeways in the ties in the run-up to the general election where even the party spiritual chief Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat had been seen as favouring whatever they did.
And Husam was seen as Nik Aziz’s ‘blue-eye boy’ where when the former was Mentri Besar, Husam was not just an exco but whatever he did was ‘sanctioned’ by Nik Aziz – from mooting out development projects to strengthening the ties with partners in Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
However, luck was not with him when Nik Aziz stepped down from Mentri Besar post and he is left to fend himself against the fundamentalists leadership in the state who obviously have many things against his days with Nik Aziz.
With the party election concluded and Husam is in the top party heiracrhy, the internal feud does not see an end as Husam is expected to take the ‘bull by the horns’ given that Nik Amar lost to unseat the liberal Mat Sabu.
Knowing that he has the backing of party members since the party delegates had retained him in the vice-presidency, Husam sees no reason to stop ‘knocking’ the fundamentalists so that he still has his way to further strengthen ties or in other words, make Kelantan toe the way of Pakatan Rakyat.
Kelantan has been trying to distance from the pact as the ruling fundamentalists have been trying to work closely with Barisan Nasional (BN) to develop the state as well as finding a way to implement the Hudud.
Husam’s liberal colleagues in PAS have been trying to stop the state leadership from working together with BN and delay the implementation of Hudud as desired by partners DAP while PKR is quiet about it.
Even now, Kelantan leadership has already extent their hands to BN federal leaders for meeting to work on development and Islamic issues, which worry the liberals in the party.
If the meeting occurs, then Husam and his liberals colleagues have got a big problem in their hands which worry Anwar and DAP.
And for Husam and Mat Sabu and all the liberals in the party is that if the relationship between Kelantan PAS and BN particularly Umno works, then their aim to see PAS as the Malays rallying point for Pakatan Rakyat will be just a dream.
