KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang had in mind a government without an opposition when he mooted the unity government proposal with Umno, said PAS’ central committee member Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Aziz.

A staunch supporter of the PAS president, Nik Abduh said the unity government does not consist of only the Islamist party, but included ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) as well.

“What the PAS president suggested was a government with no opposition, it is not about a BN-PAS government. This has been stressed several times.

“However, this should be left to the top leadership to discuss,” he told reporters outside the parliament lobby yesterday.

The unity government was first mooted after the 2008 general election in which BN lost its customary two-thirds majority. But the move did not take off as the party’s late spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was adamant against working with rival Umno.

This issue, coupled with Abdul Hadi’s insistence on implementing the Islamic penal code hudud in the east coast state of Kelantan, saw his relationship with ally DAP fraying further.

DAP has already declared it would not work with Abdul Hadi, although it will still maintain a relationship with the Islamist party.

Lately, DAP has increased its attacks on PAS, with parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang even predicting that the Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact will disintegrate within two weeks, after PAS holds its party elections in early June. Abdul Hadi who is defending the presidency is expected to retain his post.

Nik Abduh warned yesterday that DAP’s incessant attacks would cause PAS members to sympathise more with Abdul Hadi, saying at the end of the day, they are the ones who will decide on who will be president.

He added that even its grass-roots members are unhappy with their ally’s constant attacks.

Abdul Hadi previously said that both Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Nik Aziz supported moves to form a unity government with Umno, but this was denied by opposition leader and Anwar’s wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

Keen on the idea himself, Abdul Hadi said a national unity government meant uniting all political parties under a single party to form a government.

“The idea came about during the Perak constitutional crisis. At the time, there was an attempt by Barisan Nasional to woo Pakatan Rakyat reps.

“None of us wanted to join BN. We didn’t want history to repeat itself. That’s why we came up with the unity government idea — all parties in one government,” Abdul Hadi said. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 28, 2015.