Malaysia: PAS winning few hearts so
far By Anil Netto
PENANG,
Malaysia - Seated at a table, the white-turbaned,
bespectacled Abdul Hadi
Awang, president of the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS),
almost could have passed as a business executive wearing
what appeared to be a dapper, dark-gray business jacket.
But as he stood to speak, the business jacket turned out
to be a full-length cassock. Indeed, Hadi is not only
the leader of the opposition in Malaysia and chief
minister of the east coast state of Terengganu, he is
also the driving force behind PAS's aim of establishing
a conservative Islamic state in Malaysia.
Flanking the short-bearded Hadi at the table was
Harun Din, the PAS information chief, a
much-sought-after orator, former professor and populist
interpreter of Islam within PAS circles.
The
event that both men attended last Sunday was billed as a
dialogue with non-Muslims and non-governmental
organizations, and it is not surprising that Hadi and
Harun would want to meet with these groups so close to
the polls, likely to be held in a couple of weeks. After
all, his party has an image problem, one not helped by
pro-government mainstream media, which regularly quote
some of the restrictions imposed on Malays living in
Terengganu.
Thus PAS is anxious to put its best
foot forward. Emceeing the event was the son of the late
Yusuf Rawa, PAS's fifth president, who welcomed the
audience in English: "Islam teaches us respect among
communities, ethnic groups and their cultures," he said,
going on to introduce Hadi. "He may be the object of
ridicule and criticism in the newspapers and labeled as
a firebrand and so on, but you can hear him for
yourself. Anyway, we welcome you to be together with the
'extremists' this afternoon.
"That's a joke," he
quickly reassured the audience. But for many Malaysians,
especially non-Muslims, Hadi and his party are trying to
introduce a conservative Islamic state that doesn't jibe
with the way of life they are accustomed to.
Hadi, 57, took to the rostrum and, speaking in
Malay, quickly spelled out three basic tenets of Islamic
governance. First, he said, Islam is about living up to
trust, and leadership is all about living up to a
position of trust to humanity, which includes
non-Muslims. Second, under Islam, if one does not
fulfill promises made, then one is guilty, he said. And
third, the concept of justice: "We must be fair to all -
and not just our group."
When it comes to
justice, PAS itself has consistently spoken out against
the use of the Internal Security Act, which allows
detention without trial. Hadi also has criticized
Malaysia's affirmative-action policies favoring the
indigenous bumiputras (literally, "princes of the
soil"). "We must help the poor, irrespective of race,"
he said, a comment that he followed by taking a swipe at
the ruling coalition. "What we have today are UMNOputras
and MCAputras," he said, referring to the cronyism that
critics accuse the ruling United Malays National
Organization (UMNO) and its coalition partner, the
Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), of practicing.
UMNO mismanagement leads to
trouble Terengganu, complained Hadi, is the
second-richest state in Malaysia in terms of resources,
and yet its population is the second-poorest in the
country. This he blamed on decades of mismanagement by
the previous UMNO-led Barisan Nasional (National Front
or BN) administration operating in the northeastern
state. PAS captured Terengganu from the BN in the 1999
general election, riding on a wave of public outrage
over the ouster, assault and jailing of then-deputy
premier Anwar Ibrahim.
The first thing the new
government did was abolish quit rent (taxes on
residential premises) and toll collection on a bridge -
a move that eventually cost them RM20 million (US$5.26
million) in lost revenue. But then disaster struck when
the federal government stopped the payment of petroleum
royalties to the opposition-led state government and
chose to channel it, via friendly agencies, to the
grassroots as "goodwill money", Hadi explained.
Overnight, the state government lost 80 percent of its
revenue. Still, what could have been a fiscal disaster,
he contended, was averted by some deft policy moves and
quick thinking by the state government.
"We
found that once we started helping the poor, donations
started flowing in."
Timber proved to be a
lifeline as well. "Though there was little timber left,
we made more money compared to before [under the BN
government], when there was a lot of timber, but little
revenue," Hadi said, taking another swipe at the ruling
coalition.
In addition, state land was sold for
agricultural and business use to both Malay and Chinese
business interests and more income was generated. The
issuance of land titles to the landless and to Chinese
new villagers also raised revenue for the state. "We
solved the squatter problem, irrespective of race, and
we issued land titles, including land for a Chinese
cemetery," Hadi said. "We received 120,000 applications
for land titles from those who did not have ownership of
the land they were living on."
As for criticism
of the state's Islamization policies, Hadi insisted: "We
respect freedom of expression and of religion" and hit
out at the media for "not telling the truth", a truth
that to Hadi is easy to see. "Don't ask us," he said.
"Go to Terengganu and [neighboring] Kelantan [also ruled
by PAS] and find out for yourself."
However, a
recent poll commissioned by The Star, Malaysia's
top-selling newspaper, revealed that the party lacked
support among non-Muslims. In the key frontline state of
Kedah, only 11 percent of non-Malays supported the
party. Could this be caused by the fear that their
freedom of religion and way of life would be affected by
a PAS-led government?
The PAS leaders dismissed
the findings of the Star survey, which, they pointed
out, is owned by the MCA. Their own studies revealed
otherwise, they said. And they may have a point. In
Terengganu, for instance, The Star also reported that 71
percent of non-Malays were satisfied with Hadi's
performance, though only 41 percent of non-Malays
preferred PAS.
Religious freedom a
'sensitive' issue As a test of Hadi's claim to
religious freedom in Terengganu state, Hadi was asked if
it was true that an application to build a new Catholic
church in Kuala Terengganu had not yet received a
favorable reply. Hadi said the state had studied the
matter and found out that the place currently being used
was adequate for the church's requirements (Catholics
there have been using a chapel belonging to a local
convent).
"To build a new church, with a tall
steeple and lambang [symbol or cross], in a
public place would be a sensitive issue," he said. "They
[the Church] have to consider the sensitivities of the
community around them. They have a place of worship now;
we think it is adequate. We would allow them to build a
dewan [hall], but not a prominent steeple. It's
for their own safety."
When asked why this issue
should be "sensitive", Hadi said there were certain
quarters, a small minority, in society who were
jahil (ignorant) and that they could create
problems. He also said the state government could not
guarantee security against such problems as it does not
control the security forces, which come under federal
jurisdiction.
To be fair, Terengganu under PAS
is probably not much different from some other state
governments under BN rule. When the Catholic Church
wanted to build a church in Shah Alam, the capital of
central BN-ruled Selangor state, it ran into similar
difficulties and a controversy ensued over the plans,
which eventually had to be scaled down.
Questions regarding PAS power So what
would happen to Malaysia's parliament, the judiciary and
the executive if PAS won power at the federal level (a
condition that remains a remote possibility)? Would a
religious council become the most powerful body in the
country?
Hadi and information chief Haron
replied that the first thing they would do would be to
introduce reforms to the existing institutions,
including the judiciary. But their reply seemed hazy,
perhaps deliberately so, and left the thrust of the
question unanswered.
They supported the
implementation of harsh hudud and qisas
laws, likening it to a surgeon amputating a limb in
order to save a patient's life. "But it does not mean
that thousands of criminals would have their limbs
amputated - its principal value lies in its deterrent
effect," they said.
When UMNO state assembly
members in Terengganu were voting on hudud, they
didn't object to the principle, only to the PAS way of
doing it. Both UMNO and PAS do want some level of
Islamization and there's a whole political game of each
side trying to up the ante on the other.
Asked
whether the current
bumiputra/non-bumiputra dichotomy in
Malaysia would be replaced by a new distinction between
Muslim believers and zimmi/kafir
(non-Muslims/infidels) - terms some non-Muslims regard
as denoting second-class status, Haron replied that the
term zimmi is used purely for practical purposes;
for example, Muslims would be required to pay
zakat tithes whereas the zimmi would pay
the usual taxes. "Islam places the highest duty on
Muslims to protect the rights of the zimmi," he
added.
Lim Boon Tong, a Chinese-Malaysian
politician from Keadilan, PAS's ally in the opposition
alliance, asked what model of the Islamic state PAS
would strive to implement. Would it take after Islamic
administrations in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan or
Iran? He pointed out that in Iran, the Baha'i community
has been systematically harassed and persecuted since
the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. Would
the same thing happen to non-Muslims under a PAS-led
Islamic state?
The PAS leaders replied that the
ideal Islamic state was the one fashioned by the Prophet
Mohammed and based on the Koran. PAS would not follow
the Iranian model as it is based on Shi'ite teachings,
whereas Muslims in Malaysia come under the Sunni strand.
Despite the tough questioning, the PAS leaders
remained calm and their dozens of supporters appeared
cordial and hospitable. It was all in a day's work in
their quest to win the hearts and minds of Malaysians.
But though the party may have significant Malay support,
it is likely to be a long time before the majority of
Malaysians, especially the non-Muslims, are convinced.
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bespectacled Abdul Hadi
Awang, president of the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS),
almost could have passed as a business executive wearing
what appeared to be a dapper, dark-gray business jacket.
But as he stood to speak, the business jacket turned out
to be a full-length cassock. Indeed, Hadi is not only
the leader of the opposition in Malaysia and chief
minister of the east coast state of Terengganu, he is
also the driving force behind PAS's aim of establishing
a conservative Islamic state in Malaysia.
