BN no better than communists, says Nik Aziz

PENANTI, May 28 — PAS spiritual leader Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz joined an all-star ceramah session last night as Pakatan Rakyat stepped up efforts to wrap up the by-election and bag the win.

Nik Aziz went straight for the Barisan Nasional (BN) jugular and mocked prime minister and BN president Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s decision not to allow former communist leader Chin Peng to return to Malaysia, describing it as hypocritical.

“Chin Peng wants to come back and somebody asked me what I thought about it so I said if BN wants to reject the communists, then the same can be said about nationalists,” he said.

The statement was made in reference to his belief and past statement that Umno should replace its nationalist trait with Islam as the main ideology.

Kelantan Mentri Besar Nik Aziz speaking at the Ceramah Perdana in Penanti last night. - Picture by Choo Choy May
Nik Aziz, who vehemently opposes the “cooperation with Umno” idea supported by some of his own party members, had stated in the past that the Islamist party will only work together with its rival if the latter discards its nationalist ideology.

But judging by how the charismatic PAS leader pounded BN last night, this “cooperation” is a long way off.

BN was accused of total evil, reigning with treachery, manipulation and corruption. He urged Penanti voters to rise against the BN rule and vote for PKR candidate Mansor Othman this Sunday.

The other big names at the ceramah were Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who also asked voters to send a strong signal to BN.

He also blasted BN for their decision to contest in Manek Urai, slamming the decision as a reflection of their arrogance and hypocrisy.

“When they did not want to contest at Penanti, they said they wanted to focus on improving the country’s economy and not play the political game supposedly created by me.

“But it seems that the economy of the country, in fact the world, has been solved since BN now has the time to contest there,” he said.

The Manek Urai by-election in Kelantan will be the seventh since the March 8 polls. The state seat was vacated following the death of its assemblyman, Ismail Yaakob.

Also present at the ceramah was PKR vice-president Azmin Ali