MUKTAMAR After being roasted by several delegates at the 60th PAS muktamar, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu finally took to the stage today with his usual sense of humour intact.

"I don't know how I suddenly became a target at the muktamar this time, but it's amusing when people are direct in their criticism.

"What is not amusing, is my picture on a banner nearby being spray-painted.

"Don't do that, the women's wing will be upset," he joked in apparent reference to his looks.

Mohamad over the last two days was accused of trying to undermine PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, allying himself with "godless" socialists and being disrespectful of party clerics.

It didn't help when a week before the muktamar, he in an interview with Malaysiakini ticked the party leaders off for bandying Islam instead of concentrating on justice and good governance.

Dismissing claims he was out to undermine Hadi, Mohamad, better known as Mat Sabu, related how he had worked hard to ensure the party president won in the last general election.

He also addressed his apparent contradictory statements with Hadi on the Selangor crisis, stating that he was only conveying decisions made at the party's meeting.

'Not out to topple Hadi'

He cited the Aug 17 decision which decided to endorse PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and her deputy Azmin Ali as menteri besar candidates.

"I read out at the press conference the statement that was signed by the president, I did not even change a dot in the text," he said in his winding-up speech.

Hadi subsequently overruled the central committee and submitted his own list of names to the Selangor palace for consideration, which included a PAS representative.

"Having the intention to topple the president had never come across our hearts," said Mohamad.

He added that his presence at a Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) function was due to his duties as the democracy and mobilisation bureau chief which requires him to engage other political parties.

He also denied a delegate's accusation that he had alluded that Indonesian president-elect Joko Widodo, fondly known as Jokowi, was better than Hadi.

Instead, Mohamad said he had merely used Jokowi's victory as Indonesian president to highlight the rise of the "third force" which he said was likewise happening in Malaysia.

"Those who are being charged for sedition, people like Adam Adli, Safwan Anang, Hishamuddin Rais, all these are what is called the third force that may shape the future political landscape," he said.

He stressed that the Islamic party needed to keep abreast of these developments.

Mohamad also emphasised the need for PAS to have friends, using the problems of Egypt's Islamic Brotherhood as illustration.

"After the Islamic Brotherhood came to power, they excluded many party's because they thought they could go it alone.

"But when there was a crackdown against the Islamic Brotherhood, there were no more tens of thousands of supporters that had hit the streets to support them," he said.

'Veto power used sparingly'

Meanwhile, PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali too defended Mohamad, stating that it was he who had asked the deputy president to attend PSM events.

Likewise, Mustafa also defended Hadi's move to veto the party's central committee, stating that the president did not normally exercise this power.

"The president does not use his veto power all the time, there should not be such perception," he said.

Mustafa said Hadi had only exercised his power when decisions needed to be done on short notice.

In the case of the Selangor crisis, Mustafa claimed the palace had asked for names for menteri besar candidates on a short notice, therefore Hadi made his own decision in consultation with the syura council.

He claimed PAS and its Pakatan Rakyat partners were unable to decide on who should be the next Selangor menteri besar, thus prolonging the crisis.

Even though the PAS' central committee had decided that the top post belonged to PKR, Hadi's list to the palace included a PAS candidate.

After the muktamar, Mustafa was asked if PAS would accept the menteri besar position if offered by the Selangor sultan, but was coy about the matter.

"If a PKR candidate is chosen, we will support it, but if PAS is chosen, I don't want to comment," he said.