Rafizi Pas Push For Blind Obedience Could Be Detrimental

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PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli has warned that PAS’ growing insistence on wala’ (loyalty) from its members could become a liability for the party as it eyes federal power, as blind obedience could be detrimental.
Rafizi said while PAS leaders portray loyalty as a core strength, cracks are visible within the party as not all members fully obey the leadership.
“Even the loyalty that exists now is considered insufficient. They want even higher loyalty, perhaps as preparation to form the federal government,” he noted.
He said in the past, in Kelantan, aligning with PAS once meant an easier life, but internal factions led to clashes, and PAS lost power in 1978.
The party now demands stronger loyalty, especially in preparing for federal ambitions, though such problems risk growing nationally. PKR has faced similar tests of loyalty. In 1999, PAS briefly governed Terengganu under Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang, but lost the state again by 2004.
Thus, he cautioned that blind obedience risks repeating PAS’s turbulent history in Kelantan between 1959 and 1978, when internal factions and infighting eventually led to its defeat.
“So, what more kind of loyalty do they want? Yes, this is the phase PAS is going through. I think especially the younger wala’-types on social media – they’ll attack you from every angle, shifting arguments just to defend that everything PAS does is holy. I don’t think they even study history.
“Because PAS has been through this before – when they held power for a long time.
“Those cultures seeped into PAS. For example, they ruled Kelantan from 1959 until 1978. Between 1974 and 1978, PAS was even part of the federal government.
“At that time, Kelantan was rich. People now often say Kelantan is victimised, but they forget that in the 1960s and 1970s, Kelantan was wealthy because of its timber. Other states were still agricultural and didn’t have much timber,” he said in the Yang Berhenti Menteri podcast on Friday (Sept 19).
Drawing parallels with Terengganu in 1999, Rafizi said PAS’s leaders quickly embraced perks of power while grassroots members bore the struggles.
“The irony is, those at the top live comfortably while cyber troopers fight daily online, yet leaders still say it’s not enough loyalty,” Rafizi remarked, joking that PAS could be renamed the “Pan-Malaysian Loyalty Party”.
He said before the party won in Terengganu in 2004, PAS leaders, once modest religious teachers, gained luxury cars and comfortable lives through state positions, while grassroots supporters – like cyber troopers – struggle and fight online, ultimately left disappointed as leaders enjoy the benefits. —  Focus Malaysia

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