Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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PAS has come “full moon”, as it were. The Islamic-based party, which promised that it was suitable for all citizens in the last general election, has decided to go back  where it belongs — a kampung party in the Malay heartland, concentrating on issues affecting the Malays and the Muslim community.

With that, it has confirmed to voters that it no longer has ambitions or the will to participate in a national agenda. Instead of understanding what multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia is all about and what Malaysians in general want, it wants the people, including the Chinese and Indians who supported it in the last general election, to understand its narrow interpretation of political Islam.

What else can Pas fight for now when at its recent general assembly, the delegates decided to pulverise all its “progressive” leaders, who had diligently promoted a better, multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia. Instead, the delegates selected pro-ulama leaders, based not on their ability but merely because their names appeared on party chief Hadi Awang’s list of all the president’s men.

At the same assembly, the party also passed a motion without debate to sever ties with DAP, thus immobilising the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, which included PKR.

Isn’t Pas for all — a proposition fervently endorsed by the party when the charismatic and respected Tok Guru Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was alive? Has the concept of a benevolent state that excited many non-party members, including the non-Malays — so much so that they were willing to give it a chance — been relegated to the bottom of the party’s wish list?

It is clear that today, those two concepts strongly promoted by its progressive leaders are no longer vital to the party’s existence.

While the progressive leaders are calculating their own political permutations and perhaps moving towards a more central position, at a time when many believe a new Malaysia is taking shape with the possible dismantling of old political forces and the creation of new coalitions, pro-ulama Pas seems to be taking a route that will see them relegated to the sidelines.

If Pas goes it alone politically as a party and does not cooperate with Umno — some Pas leaders and members naively think the BN linchpin will support their quest for hudud or agree to form a Malay/Muslim coalition — it is likely to stay on the periphery of political power for a long time.

And it is likely that Pas will have to go it alone as Umno is caught in a fragile political scenario. Umno president, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, is facing internal and external onslaughts and cannot afford to lose the support of the Christian-based parties in Sabah and Sarawak, and of the non-Malay parties in the peninsula, by co-opting Pas and supporting the execution of its hudud plan.

So, the scenario of Pas going it alone is this:

In Kelantan, it will be a straight fight between Umno and Pas. With the death of Nik Aziz and the state government’s poor handling of the flood disaster, there is a likelihood it can lose its bastion.

In Terengganu, it will also be a straight fight with Umno. Pas nearly captured the state in the last general election. The next polls, due in 2018, could be a close fight but Pas’ chances would have been better with the help of the progressives and its Pakatan partners.

In Kedah, which it won with the support of DAP and PKR in the 2008 general election but lost in 2013, it is likely to do worse. The northern state is much more multi-racial than Kelantan and Terengganu.

In Selangor, where the present state government can still survive in a loose coalition with Pas and DAP, Pas — if it finds itself in a three-cornered fight with PKR and Umno in the next general election or a snap election — could face a potential whitewash without the support of the Chinese and Indians.

The big strides that Pas made, notably in multi-racial constituencies in Perak, Johor (where it put up Indian candidates in the general election), Pahang, Melaka and Negeri Sembilan, could come to a standstill.

Many don’t see an ulama-dominated Pas and its central committee, without the active participation of the progressives and professionals who have served the party for many years, moving forward to embrace a multi-racial and multi-religious political platform.

Compare my current assessment with the article I wrote in this column, just before the 2013 election, titled “A clearer view on the dark side of the moon”.

“Come what may, one interesting observation that can be seen at this general election is the coming of age of the Islamic party, Pas, as it moves to the centre of the country’s political landscape, mounting a greater challenge to Umno’s position as the dominant Malay/Muslim party. At the same time, Pas is making itself more amenable to other races.

“Despite its political detractors, notably the ruling BN, closely linking Pas with the implementation of hudud, more non-Malays are seeing Pas as a party worthy of their support. The fear of the Islamists is getting less by the day and many see the party as an important component of a ‘new Malaysia’.

“Pas is promoting itself as a party that is helmed by a strong mix of professionals and ulamas and one that is committed of fighting corruption, ensuring fair play among the different races and building a framework of governance that is characterised by integrity, justice, rule of law and trust.

“In this general election, its move towards the centre is being promoted by its willingness to put up Chinese, Indian and Christian candidates. While hudud is at its heart (then again, no Muslim, be it in Umno or PKR, is against hudud as a religious matter per se although questions linger over its implementation and suitability in a multi-racial society), Pas is advocating Negara Berkebajikan, a nation of care and opportunity for all.

“Now, this is a far cry from the late 1970s and 1980s when Pas was consistently portrayed as a Malay/Muslim kampung party with a strong presence only in Kelantan and some areas of Terengganu, Kedah, Penang and Perak.

“Back then, Pas was alien to the majority of Malays in Selangor, the Federal Territory, Pahang, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johore. Politically, it was non-existent in Sabah and Sarawak.

“There were no Pas flags to be seen in my kampung in Sungai Lalang, Semenyih, in the 1980s but today it is prominently displayed in even urban Malay areas in Selangor like Gombak, Ampang, Old Klang Road and Kampong Baru in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

“Why the attraction? Many Malay voters see it as a viable alternative to Umno, a party that — to some Malays and many non-Malays — seems to be stuck in the past and does not want to change or shed its well-entrenched patronage system.”

Why the different view now? Perhaps, there is indeed a dark side of the moon that many — notably its non-member supporters — did not see earlier.


Azam Aris is senior managing editor at The Edge

This article first appeared in Forum, The Edge Malaysia Weekly, on June 22 - 28, 2015.

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