MUKTAMAR | PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang dismissed criticisms that his was a quarrelsome party which has cut ties with several parties since 1978.

Hadi said if one analyses the party’s long history, it was other parties which had severed ties with PAS first.

“The BN kicked us out of the Alliance, Semangat 46 alienated themselves, and in 2000, DAP left the Barisan Alternatif, and again, DAP sacked us (from the Penang government),” Hadi said at a press conference after closing the 63rd PAS muktamar in Alor Setar, Kedah.

DAP quit Barisan Alternatif in 2001 after PAS insisted on forming an Islamic state, while in 2015, the party sacked PAS from Penang and formed the government with PKR and Parti Amanah Negara.

They did this after PAS muktamar passed a motion to cut ties with DAP following the party’s criticism towards Hadi’s plan to table amendments to the hudud law in Parliament.

The label of “quarrelsome party” came about in blogs and social media by PAS critics who slammed the party for planning to cut ties with long-time ally, PKR.

Yesterday, the party's 1,200 delegates unanimously said yes to severing ties with PKR, due to several reasons especially the party’s lack of support for Hadi’s motion to amend Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, or Act 355.

During his closing speech, Hadi slammed certain quarters who deem PAS as a “hotel”, where one stays a night, and checks out the next day.

He said these quarters were only interested in promoting their own agenda.

“We have filtered these quarters; some have resigned on their own, while others were sacked."

Asked if he meant Amanah leaders, who left the party last year after failing to obtain posts in the party internal polls, Hadi said: “I meant it in general."