PAS vice-president Mustafa Ali has described the party's munaqashah (special convention) over the weekend as the 'best convention ever'.

"It was serious, open and critical. The delegates have given a lot of views that could benefit the party if implemented correctly," he said.

Echoing similar sentiments, PAS deputy spiritual leader and information chief Dr Haron Din said everything went according to plan.

He said the speculation that the event would be "heated " with delegates voicing strong criticism against the leadership similar to what transpired in the muktamar (annual general assembly) proved to be wrong.

"There were no harsh words. Everything was said in a diplomatic tone. We appreciate every single advice that was given. I am very satisfied with the event and findings that we have made," he added.

He said all the views made during the two-day convention were recorded and the documents were also submitted to the relevant leaders both at the state and federal levels to be studied.

"I am confident that these would be fruitful for us in determining the party's direction and strategy," stressed the information chief when contacted.

Delegates unconvinced

However, some of the delegates who attended the convention did not share the leaders' optimism. They expressed concern that the issues will be ignored by the leadership.

"My loyalty to the party fails to erase the nagging doubts that all the issues raised in the munaqashah will be swept under the carpet and forgotten," said a delegate from Selangor when contacted.

"Serious problems were raised and cogent solutions were offered by the delegates. Some had politely asked certain leaders to step down. Will they (the leaders) react? I hope so but I have my doubts," he added.

The delegate revealed that one of the main issues raised was the Koperasi Al-Hilal debacle, a cooperative formed for party members, which suffered a loss of RM65 million.

"The massive loss is only part of the reason why the issue was raised. The other important part is that leaders responsible for managing the cooperative have got away scot free.

"To date, the leaders responsible in the management of the cooperative have failed to act responsibly. What is worst, the party had negligently avoided discussing it. There seemed to be lack of transparency on this matter," he added.

He said the matter is a long-standing problem in the party but members were told not to discuss it openly to avoid adverse publicity.

"To make matters worst the person heading the cooperative's board of directors then is now holding an important post," he added.

Reforms wanted

Another delegate from Selangor said it is the quest for reforms that led delegates to raise the issue.

"The main thing is reform. To do that, we must clean our line of leadership. Leaders with poor track records should be replaced as they will bring a bad image to the party.

"In the reform process, leaders must be sensitive and aware of the need of the people If not the party will be left behind and become irrelevant," he added.

However, a Klang Valley delegate said the criticisms were not strong enough to evoke any concrete action as the issues were raised "in a general manner".

"No names were mentioned. I understand that they do not want to offend anyone openly. But they should know that such general statements will make it easy for those involved to brush aside the accusations," he added.

Commenting on this, a Perlis delegate said although no names were mentioned, it does not take a genius to conclude the identities of the leaders referred to by the delegates.

"Take the issue of the cooperative. We all know who the delegates were talking about. Because the matter was not addressed properly, the leader managed to evade responsibility. He knows that his leadership is being questioned but he refuses to admit his faults," he added.

He said it is clear that members want that particular leader to step down.

"He must resign. That's the only way to deal with it. If he refuses to take heed of the criticism and resign, will the party leaders do the necessary to replace him?" he asked.

A Selangor delegate revealed that the same leader was again criticised by a former central committee member for causing division in the party by deciding to contest for the deputy president post.

"The leader refused to heed the decision made by the majlis syura (consultative council of religious scholars) for a no contest. He chose to put his political career above the party's interest and contested," he said.

"It was also pointed out that the same disrespect was shown in the case of Anwar Ibrahim. While top leaders announced the party's readiness to work with the former deputy premier, there are others making statements challenging it," he added.

Action promised

Responding to this, Haron assured party members that appropriate actions will be taken on all the issues raised during the convention.

"All issues raised that are seen to have put the party in a negative perspective will be seriously studied and we will come back with appropriate actions. We will deal with all matters as soon as possible.

"Of course we will take action, if not our efforts in holding the munaqashah would go to waste," he said.

However, a Youth leader said members should not expect to see any change in the leadership line-up following the complaints.

"PAS tradition is too much ingrained in the party. The leaders do not want to rock the boat. They don't want to hurt their friends feelings. But they should realise that what they are doing is jeopardising the party's future," he added.