Nik Aziz renews support for stronger PR alliance

By Clara Chooi, The Malaysian Insider

Nik Aziz maintains PAS should stay with Pakatan Rakyat. — file pic

PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat has maintained that the Islamist party should remain with Pakatan Rakyat (PR), while renewing his disdain for Umno over the Perak imbroglio. The frail but fiery leader also gave his blessings on the 10 resolutions passed during yesterday’s inaugural PR convention, held here at the Syuen Hotel.
He told a congregation of some 600 delegates from the loose coalition’s three parties — PAS, DAP and PKR — to accept and adopt the resolutions, which mainly stressed on strengthening the newborn alliance.
He rejected the practice of corruption and money politics amongst the Barisan Nasional parties — singling out Umno in particular — and indicated that the PR, with its resounding pledge to weed out corruption, was the better alternative.
“We should sanction these resolutions and we will receive our reward. We are not on this earth to receive money but ‘pahala’ (reward) because money is materialism,” he said.
He added that in death, only the physical body of a person dies while the soul remains.
“As Muslims, whether we are Malay Muslims or Chinese Muslims or any other, we must protect our souls. We feed our bodies rice but it must be ‘halal’ — the rice is for the body while the ‘halal’ is for the soul,” he said, adding that anything bought with “haram” money would make the item “haram” as well.

Nik Aziz took a swipe at Umno’s practice of money politics. — file pic

Nik Aziz also explained that in the world belonging to Allah, no two people were the same, whether in physique or beliefs and values. “I have 10 children and 52 grandchildren, and none of them are the same. After all, if all women and men looked the same, then we would never be able to tell which ones are our wives,” he joked.
As such, Nik Aziz said the differences of opinions and misunderstandings within the PR alliance was normal, for each party and each individual had their own uniqueness.
He called Umno stupid for getting angry with PAS and DAP over the issue of non-Muslims quoting verses from the Quran.
“The verses in the sacred Quran contain the basics of creating unity amongst mankind. Umno is stupid for getting angry just because a non-Muslim is trying to understand the Quran,” he said.