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He said matters concerning what is “halal” and “haram” are narratives derived from the Quran.
“As adherents (of the faith) we are merely proclaiming what has been said by Allah and the messengers. How is this extreme?” he told FMT. In any case, he said the opposition did not focus on those matters at the by-election.
Tuan Ibrahim also said the “increasing support” in Selangor for PAS debunked any claim that the party was extreme.
In the last state election in August, Perikatan Nasional, which PAS is a part of, made significant gains in Selangor, securing 22 of the 56 state seats, all in Malay-majority constituencies.
However, in the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election, Pakatan Harapan recaptured six of the eight Malay-majority electoral districts won by PN in last year’s state election, according to Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
Tuan Ibrahim was responding to a claim by Bersatu’s Abdul Rashid Asari that support for Bersatu will continue to dwindle if the party remains a PAS ally.
The Selat Klang assemblyman, who now backs Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari, blamed the opposition coalition’s loss of support on PAS, saying the party’s views were “too extreme”.
Rashid, the former Selangor Bersatu chief, said one example of an extreme view was PAS’s claim that it would be “haram” for Muslims not to vote. He said, the Malay community, including those who are PAS members, were not fond of such statements.
However, Tuan Ibrahim countered by saying that Rashid would not have won his seat if what he says now was true.
“PN’s achievements in the last general election and state polls prove his claims to be unfounded,” he said.
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