KUALA LUMPUR: PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang has been slammed by Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders over his claim that DAP is "pro-communist".
Speaking to a news portal, DAP national chairman Lim Guan Eng said Abdul Hadi's claim was "pure fakery" and smacked of hypocrisy.
Lim said if PAS was dead set against communism, it should train its guns on Umno, which had sent its representatives to attend the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) meetings.
"Umno is the only party that invites the CCP to attend its AGM. So, how can he (Hadi) say DAP, but not mention Umno?
"If Hadi is so anti-communist, why didn't he object to Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob appointing a special envoy to China? Why didn't he disapprove of our links with communist-led Vietnam?
"Abdul Hadi is barking at the wrong tree. As long as it suits him politically, he will change his colour. He is completely irresponsible and divisive," Lim told the news portal
He said PAS should never be allowed to be part of the next government as it was racist and extremist.
PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil said Abdul Hadi's remarks were aimed at creating doubt among voters to cover up the party's shortcomings, such as its failed attempt at tabling a private member's bill to enhance shariah law penalties.
"It is a diversion tactic so that they need not answer about PAS' failures," he said.
Fahmi also said Hadi owed PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim an apology for falsely accusing Anwar of being a Freemason.
He said Abdul Hadi had stated in a letter to the late Islamic scholar Yusuf Qardawi that Anwar was a Freemason, only to discover later that there was another individual in the group who shared the same name as Anwar.
"Until today, Hadi has never admitted that he was wrong in slandering Anwar. Other PAS leaders have also lost many defamation suits over slanderous remarks," he said.
DAP's central executive committee member Syahredzan Johan called Abdul Hadi's accusations ridiculous and a reflection of what PAS had to offer.
"PAS has nothing to offer the rakyat and is resorting to these attacks. They are bereft of vision and they cannot offer solutions," he said.
It was reported that Abdul Hadi, in a series of tweets, had said DAP should be opposed as it was "pro-communist", adding that communists "terrorise more than the Christian and Jewish colonisers".
Previously, Abdul Hadi, in a Friday sermon in Marang, had said PAS would not work with PH as the coalition was led by "communists" and was supportive of the LGBTQ community while Barisan Nasional (BN) was "shady".