Show proof that some 3,000 PAS members have joined Gerakan Harapan Baru (GHB), Selangor PAS secretary Mohd Khairuddin Othman has challenged GHB’s Selangor wing.

Khairuddin also downplayed the impact of such a move on PAS, saying that even if the claim was true, Selangor PAS alone has more than 100,000 members.

“We find that the claims (by Selangor GHB) are not quite true. We don’t know who these 3,000 people are. Reveal them to us, then (we) can say if they are our members. If not, even I can make all kinds of statements.

“With 3,000 out of 100,000, it wouldn’t affect us if it is true that there are 3,000 PAS members in Selangor GHB.

“At the branch and division levels, we do checks often and there aren’t many (who joined GHB). One there, two here, there [...] it doesn't affect our administration,” Khairuddin ( photo ) told reporters when met at the Selangor state assembly lobby today.

He said this when asked about the statement by Selangor GHB coordinator Izham Hashim last week.

Malay language daily Berita Harian quoted Izham as saying on Aug 14 that 3,000 individuals have joined GHB in Selangor, and of them, 90 percent were PAS members.

GHB expects 10,000 to join

Izham is also quoted as saying that the membership of Selangor GHB is expected to rise to 10,000 by the end of the month, when the formation of GHB’s new political party is officially announced.

GHB was formed following disappointment amongst some PAS members following the outcome of this year’s party election, which saw a complete wipeout of the party’s professionals faction at the top leadership, in favour of the ulama faction.

Khairuddin’s statement came amid a slew of new resignations from Selangor PAS.

Yesterday, some 400 Selangor PAS members had announced that they were either resigning their party posts pending their eventual move to join GHB, or have left the party altogether.

The divisions affected were Kota Raja, Kapar, Klang, and Shah Alam.