Following Selangor exco member Hasan Ali's denial that he would join Umno, Selangor PAS commissioner Dr Abd Rani Osman has expressed faith in his comrade, dismissing the rumour as a gimmick by the rival party.
“Based on the commitment to the party's struggle demonstrated (by Hasan) so far, it (joining Umno) will not become a reality.
“I think it is a tune played by a certain party, and we don't have to dance to it,” he said in a text message to Malaysiakini last night.
Speculation has been rife in several blogs that Hasan met witgh Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein last week over his crossover to the ruling party.
Hasan denied denied this yesterday, and described the allegation as “speculation”.
On Hasan's claim that he did not receive any letter from Selangor PAS appointing him as a state committee member, Rani gave a different answer.
“According to the secretary, official letters had been sent to all six appointed committee members, including Hasan and all of them replied, except him.”
Rani, who is also the state assemblyperson for Meru, succeeded Hasan as the state commissioner during the state leadership reshuffle in June, after the professionals' faction gained victory over the conservative scholars in the party polls.
However, despite the speculation by political pundits, Hasan managed to retain the state exco post after the polls.
Hasan's status in the party came under the spotlight again when he claimed that since he was not appointed into the state PAS committee, he would therefore not attend any state committee meeting.
