KUANTAN: Pas, in a surprise move, has expressed its intention to wrest Pahang from Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 15th General Election (GE15).

Pahang Pas election director Hamdan Abdullah said judging by the level of support for the party, Pas is confident the people would give it a chance to govern Pahang.

"Inshallah (God willing), there will be a change in Pahang's administration. We (Pahang Pas Election Committee) are optimistic that Pas will be able to lead Pahang.

"Several parliamentary seats and more than 10 state seats (apart from the existing eight seats) have been shortlisted. Pas may be able to capture them. Pahang Pas aims to win in the additional seats the party plans to contest," he said today.  

Hamdan said Pas would offer Pahang a transparent administration with no leakages and corruption.

"We will take over the state leadership from BN democratically. BN has been managing the state for a long time with many issues, some that the people of Pahang are aware of, some they are unaware of.

"When the people give their mandate to Pas in GE15, our ambition is to ensure an ideal government without corruption, cronyism, nepotism and leakages. 'Pas Teraju Pahang' will be our slogan for GE15."

Hamdan said if Pas received the mandate, it would introduce the Wellbeing Index (Indek Kesejahteraan) as a key performance indicator to evaluate the party's ability to manage the state administration.

"The index will show an increase in the people's wellbeing, which will be measured through various categories, including economy, education, health, safety and happiness."

On Monday, Pas Youth chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, in a social media post, called on Pakatan Harapan (PH) supporters in Pahang to reconsider their support and back Pas' mission to topple BN in Pahang in GE15.

PH youth movements yesterday rejected this, saying Ahmad Fadhli's statement showed that Pas was willing to do anything to gain power.

In the last general election, BN contested all 42 state seats in Pahang, winning 25 (Umno 24, MCA one), while Pas won eight.

Pas is currently part of the Perikatan Nasional coalition in Pahang, alongside Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and Gerakan.