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UPDATED VERSION: 10.00am June 6. Nasharuddin keeps the No.2 job for the 3rd term.

DEPUTY PRESIDENT
Nasharuddin Mat Isa - 480 votes (Winner)
Husam Musa - 281 votes
Mohamad Sabu - 261 votes.

VICE PRESIDENT
Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man - 871 votes (Winner)
Salahuddin Ayub - 824 votes (Winner)
Mahfuz Omar - 636 votes (Winner)
Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah - 333 votes
Mujahid Yusof Rawa - 277 votes

ORIGINAL POSTING

Observing politics and technology.

Three functions yesterday. I was invited to attend the PAS Muktamar in Shah Alam by day, and the official launch of Nokia N97 & OVI in Kuala Lumpur by night. There was a photoshoot of me by a multimedia content creator in between.

As I had prior constituency activities on Thursday evening, and the last flight to KL was around 10.45pm and the last function did not finish until 10.15am, I had to rise at 5am, get to the airport by 6am, get on the Firefly at 7.15am, touch down by 8.15am, check-out the luggage by 8.30am, and dash off to the Shah Alam Stadium. Grabbing for breath.

At the PAS Multamar

PAS Sect-Gen Kamaruddin Jaafar was making his welcoming speech by the time I got into the hall. Tok Guru Hadi's presidential speech was next.

Some observation in and outside the hall:

• There was no longer rigid gender demarcation of seating arrangement. I was sitting next to a few Muslimats, who were seated next to Muslimins.
  
• PAS delagates no longer came in green jubah and white skullcap. They were in multi-colours.
  
• There were many 4-wheel drives and Mercerdes-Benzes and non-National cars outside. The only numberplate announced during the proceedings for blocking traffic was that of a "blue Mercedes-Benz" with a Penang insignia.
  
• There was a keen contest for the party's No. 2 post, but there was no sign of campaign intensity among the delegates.
  
• Pre-prepared, real-time synchronisation of slides summarising the presidential speech in Jawi and English.
  
• Diplomatic corp comprising the usual suspects -- US, Australia, Singapore etc -- were sliced with the presence of leaders from HAMAS, who were given a token of RM150,000 raised through Harakah for the Palestinians' cause.
  
• Malay anti-PPSMI literati like Hassan Ahmad and A. Samad Said were willing to appear on the stage to receive Anugerah Pejuang Bahasa from Tok Guru Hadi, an event culminating the efforts of other Malay literati like Professors Emeritus Abdullah Hassan, Nik Safiah Karim, Abu Bakar Abdul Hamid, and Dinsman.
  
• Traditional (hardcore?) ulamas were obviously sidelined. Trouble for Nasharuddin Mat Isa for No. 2?
  
• Harakah isnow beyond print and online, but in e-paper.
  
• PAS will build a mammoth mixed development complex near Putrajaya as a commitment to capture the federal government in thenext general election.
  
• PAS planned to spread its footprint and influence in Sabah and Sarawak through dakwah without first engaging the people there to understand their needs and wants.
  
• Hadi describes modern ulamas as those who not only were religiously trained on the mosques and forms of islam, but ulamas can also be taken to mean scholars, professionals, activists and plain lay members.

All these, as multimedia gadgets incessantly project the theme of the Muktamar this year: Islam Memimpin Perubahan (Islam Leading Change).

There are two statements from PAS leaders which straightened my back, and which I thought were both wishful and partisanly encroaching:

• Tok Guru Hadi said PAS will not compromise itself by subscribing to Umno's political culture of corruption and scandals, but will be too willing to engage with any parties on Unity Government, which was originally mooted for PAS's unilateral decision to engage Umno.
  
• Hadi also said Pakatan Rakyat is positive towards Unity Government (see Malaysiakini TV). I doubt so. Or else my party seniors must have briefed us on this.
  
• Husam Musa reportedly said the PM's post will be taken by PAS should the Opposition capture Putrajaya.

Talking in whispers again, I gathered from PAS friends that I have that the delegates are in favour of staying within the Pakatan Rakyat coalition rather than sleeping with BN, or essentially Umno.

Can Nasharuddin keep his job?

It looked clear that both Hadi Awang and Mustaffa Ali rooted for Nasha, the 2-term deputy chief whom I perceived as the bourgeois among PAS leaders.

I saw Mustaffa strategically station Nasha on the ground during the Bukit Gantang by-election. And Nasha brought along Hadi to visit each and every lunch table seating the senior leaders and observers.

Hadi did make a mention of Erdogan in his presidential speech, though. But he was making a reference to the liberal Turkish PM, Rejab Tayyeb Erdogan, and not liberals aligned to Husam Musa in the party.

But should Husam triumph, he should win only by a razor-thin majority, because Mat Sabu will wreak the spoiler effect to erode the constituencies of both his rivals. Moreover, Husam being cornered into Kelantan politics for years did not give him much room for rapport building nationally.

"PAS is here to replace Umno, not to complement it." I thought that was a strong statement that Husam and his team had underscore effectively.

Meanwhile, talking to my PAS friends on the sideline, it looked like a foregone conclusion that the three VP posts will go to former Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub, information chief Mahfuz Omar -- both are MPs -- and Pahang state chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS... PAS has changed its public orientation to capture new constituents while politically, retained and entrenched its core values that evolved after the fall of Shah of Iran. Have you DAP and PKR? Have Umno and BN?

I went home scratching the head, hence this delayed blog entry.