KUALA LUMPUR: In a lengthy Facebook post broken into several parts, PAS leader Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz justified his denial of an audio recording by saying it was done with the blessings of the Islamist party's president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.
The leaked audio recording in question was of a voice, previously alleged to be Nik Mohamad Abduh, confirming that PAS had received money from Umno.
Now admitting that it was his voice in the recording leaked early last year, Nik Mohamad Abduh explained that initially he had wanted to speak the truth instead of issuing a denial.
"Speaking the truth will set us free. A lie will be a prison that will trap us. I choose to come clean. I was confident that the content of my speech would be easily understood if the context was understood," he said today.
According to Nik Mohamad Abduh, he was faced with two choices after the recording was leaked; to speak the truth or to issue a denial.
The recording was of a speech he had given in an internal meeting, for a select audience, thus Nik Mohamad Abduh reasoned that it was his right to guard the secrecy of the meeting and not to betray it.
Both options, according to him, were syariah compliant choices.
While he had decided to speak the truth at first, Nik Mohamad Abduh said he realised that it was not just his name on the line.
"I was representing PAS in the community. The recording, although rooted in bringing down my reputation, was grabbed by enemies as soon as it went viral to bring down PAS. While PAS members did not yet have the time to get angry at me, PAS' political enemies were already celebrating it," Nik Mohamad Abduh said.
He explained that he then referred the matter to several party leaders who he said understood the matter well.
They decided it was best for him to deny it, Nik Mohamad Abduh said.
"It was difficult for me to refuse, but they insisted that I deny it. We must put a stop to the slander, they had argued," he said, adding that at the time, the country was nearing the 14th General Election (GE14).
"Pakatan Harapan (PH) was attacking PAS with various slander after they failed to find our faults or flaws.
"PH could only arm themselves with slander, a weapon that is forbidden in Islam and PAS," he said.
It was in the midst of facing this difficulty that Nik Mohamad Abduh said he sought an answer from Abdul Hadi.
"Immediately the PAS president gave his blessings on the decision for me to deny it (the recording). I accepted and was happy to receive the mandate," he said.
For Nik Mohamad Abduh's full statement, click here .