COMMENT | PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang is still recovering from his heart ailment. Parti Peribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) wishes him well.

But there is a limit to one's indulgence.

By thanking the three agent provocateurs in the Nothing to Hide 2 event, Hadi has shown truth does not matter, only politics do.

And nothing is cruder than encouraging a bunch of kids, allegedly paid with a measly RM50, to lob slippers and chairs in the direction of an elderly man whose towering achievements include the promotion of Islamic banking, International Islamic University Malaysia and global peace.

One can either keep quiet in face of massive mismanagement, corruption and malfeasance in Malaysia or took to forming an unholy alliance with Prime Minister Najib Razak to be the "kingmaker" of Malaysian politics.

As his PAS colleague Mahfuz Omar, the MP of Pokok Sena, rightfully declared: "No one goes into politics to be kingmaker, unless one is tempted to it by greed."

PAS, under Hadi's leadership, has metastasized into a pseudo-religious entity, where parliamentary perks and privileges talk, all else walks. Islam merely becomes merchandise or tool to peddle their political interests rather than the sublime Maqasid Shariah of protecting and preserving religion (deen), life (nafs), intellect (aqal), lineage (nasab) and mal (property).

I still remember during one of my privileged discussions with Hadi in the company of two other towering personalities late last year at Kuala Lumpur Hilton. I asked him a very frank question, why on earth PAS would work with Umno given all the atrocities committed by its leaders in creating so much hardship to the rakyat.

Indeed, why on earth PAS would want to work with, and save, the scandal-ridden Umno? Hadi’s answer was shocking.

“We are cooperating with Umno to ‘merungkai’ (dismantle) Umno,” Hadi said with a wry smile.

Seriously I don’t know how to react to it except that I said you are more a “politician than a ustaz (a religious teacher)”. I went back that day very scared, knowing PAS is more a political party than a religious outfit that it so hard tries to portray through cosmetics like skullcaps and green jubahs. Those, I realise, are just props to reassure their almost cult-like following.

Of course, there are many in the PAS grassroots and even in their current leadership who despises Umno and what it stands for. But so long the five ‘tembikais’ (Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, Nik Abduh Nik Aziz, Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki, Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi and Khairuddin Aman Razali At-Takiri) who circumambulate and ring fence Hadi, are around, nothing can be done by them. Not even the affable good guy Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, PAS deputy president...