While PAS fiddles , its opportunities are running dry ...

In March 2008, the government of Malaysia, in power since independence in 1957, was rocked by a general election, losing its extraordinary majority in the election, you would assume that the opposition had won.

"Political tsunami" is how it summed up.

But BN candidate Tan Sri Mohd Isa Samad’s huge sweep in Bagan Pinang by election will be touted as a reversal of fortunes for Umno and BN since taking its hardest hit during the 12th general election in March 2008.

The ruling party has suffered defeats in all but one of the by-elections it contested in since that general election. It only won the Batang Ai state seat in Sarawak and opted to stay out of the Penanti polls.

The opposition coalition known as the Peoples Alliance (Pakatan Rakyat), bringing together the predominantly Chinese-Malaysian left-leaning DAP, the multiracial PKR and the overwhelmingly Malay-Muslim Islamists of Pas.

Despite decades of rhetoric about building a united plural Malaysia, none of the political parties and political elite of Malaysia has done much in bridging the cultural, religious and ethno-linguistic gulfs between them. Hence the predominance of a mode of absolutist politics where no single party or leader can even begin to accept the idea of genuine difference and alterity in their midst.

It is for this reason that trivial matters like the sale of pork and alcohol have become so contentious in states like Selangor and why even the simplest of things like linguistic differences can make or break the fragile coalitions we see in the country.

Even though all the wings in PAS, except for the Dewan Ulama, have rejected the idea cooperation with its arch rivals, Umno-BN, key players within the conservative-nationalists camp of the party seem to think that the party can gain more by collaborating with Umno-BN than with its current everyone-is-equal Pakatan Rakyat partners.

PR’s victories in 8th March 08 GE (and subsequent by elections) were not because of PR’s strength in terms of cohesiveness but largely because of BN’s unpopularity and weakness.

The problems of conflicting ideologies between DAP & PAS with opportunistic PKR in between come to sharp focus and is subject to the severest of test when PR’s component parties actually sit down to rule and govern! And when they do so they are faced with problems such as the Kedah’s abattoir and Kampung Buah Pala controversies.

PR has raised expectations of its supporters in saying that it transcends “race, religion and culture” that it is showing it is not in position to gratify/fulfill. PR, and DAP in particular, should draw lesson from Pak Lah’s predicament. No matter how good intentioned, if one raises high expectations that one cannot fulfill/gratify, the multitudes disappointed will punish one at the next polls

R&B star Beyonce Knowles postponed a planned concert in Malaysia, the decision was prompted by criticism from the Pas, the country's largest opposition group, which has called for the show to be scrapped because it would promote "Western sexy performances."

"We oppose the holding of such concerts and we will take action to prevent such a concert from taking place in Malaysia," PAS youth chief Nasrudin Tantawi said, without specifying what action would be taken.

"This performance is not suitable for Muslims as her skimpy attire and behaviour onstage are immoral and lead to unclean behaviour," he said.

If PAS continues this line of action, they will continue to drive away non-muslim votes.

Umno and other BN parties have successfully taken advantage of PR’s lack of cohesiveness to paint the coalition as one which has too many ideological differences to take federal power.

In a move to calm fears among its supporters that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) was yielding to a resurgent Umno and its own differences, the coalition’s leaders announced dates for its inaugural convention in December where it hopes to unveil its common platform.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim played down the troubles that have plagued his own PKR and among the PR parties , and promised to reveal soon the coalition’s common platform.

And the discord between Azmin Ali and Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who has taken six months leave to "focus on a common policy platform for the Pakatan Rakyat".

Zaid’s decision stems from infighting and his decision to visit Sabah, where local leaders are in open revolt over Azmin’s appointment as the Sabah PKR chief.

Controversies involving the Selangor PAS chief Datuk Hasan Ali had also affected the party’s campaign in Indian areas.

Hasan, who is also a Selangor executive councillor, had tried to ban the sale of beer in convenience stores in Malay majority areas, empowered mosque officials to act as moral police and also criticised the state legislative special committee, Selcat’s investigations against senior civil servants.

The new Indian party Makkal Sakthi, led by former Hindraf leader RS Thanenthiran alliance with the Barisan Nasional had resulted in PAS losing the support of the non-Malays in Bagan Pinang by election.

In its first by-election defeat in the peninsula since Election 2008, PAS’s Zulkefly Omar lost the Negri Sembilan state seat by 5,435 votes. Last year, Umno only won Bagan Pinang by 2,333 votes.

The Islamist party also lost all 19 polling streams. It won five in Election 2008, four of which are dominated by non-Malays.

PAS must quickly and sincerely abandon its bigoted religious stance if it ever hopes of regaining the trust and support of the non-Muslims

The pragmatic and middle-ground Barisan Nasional (BN) is likely to win back more non-Muslim support going forward if the Pakatan parties (especially PAS) continue to fumble and fight each other.

No Big Deal, BN Government Can Go It Alone !

The Barisan Nasional (BN) government has the capacity to continue administering the country even without the formation of the proposed unity government, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said .

The prime minister said the BN government was strong and had the capability to implement its development programmes.

As such, the question of the BN government being weak so much so that there was a need for a unity government did not arise.

He said the government had merely responded positively to a proposal by PAS for a unity government.

Meanwhile, PAS secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali said PAS will hold talks on the “unity government” with Umno only if DAP and PKR are included in the process.

He said PAS would not leave its Pakatan Rakyat allies behind as it was un-Islamic to break a promise.

“If the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak) wants to hold talks on government unity with PAS, he must include DAP and PKR.

“Otherwise, there will be no talks,’’

Umno vice president Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal wants PAS to forget about the past and look to the country’s future.

He believes that Malay unity will bring stability to the country’s economy and political scene, and also benefit other communities in the country.

“Who does not want a stable political scene? I think everyone wants a more stable country and government. We have seen a lot of countries that have descended into chaos. Iran is a good example, where there are many casualties. Do we want to be like them? It will lead to situations like that if we do not take any action,” he said.

Shafie stressed that the unity talks is not just for PAS and Umno but for the sake of the Malay community.

“We must unite. We have seen how Malays are disunited,” he added.

That's the two Malay political parties battling each other to convince us that each is better than the other in advancing the “Malay agenda.”.

In a clumsy if not desperate attempt for new moves they concocted a “vision” for a “unity” government based on the two parties! Left unstated is the question: Unity for what and against whom?

Umno and PAS are so used to fighting each other that they have forgotten what it is they are fighting for.

Following the Barisan election rout of March 8, 2008, the fear that the coalition, specifically Umno, would lose power at the national level was palpable.

This desperation led misguided souls in Umno to seek those in PAS who had been longing for power. This quest for a “unity government” was nothing more than Umno securing an insurance policy for its continuing hold on power; for PAS, it was a seductive teasing on the taste of power.

It is ironic that the pursuit of a “unity government” resulted only in sowing distrust within the existing coalitions. In pursuing PAS, Umno succeeded only in straining relations with its long-time Barisan partners. PAS meanwhile managed only to poison its still frail Pakatan Rakyat coalition with PKR and DAP. Worse, as we are now seeing, it also threatens the unity of PAS.

The proponents for this “unity government” have obviously not done their due diligence or any downstream analysis. Those Umno warlords would not take kindly to sharing their bounty with their new kopiah-clad upstart colleagues. Far from “purifying” Umno, PAS would end up being just as corrupt as Umno.

This “unity government” scheme is nothing more than a crude and greedy power-grab by the Umno and PAS pair.

So far PAS wants Malays not to learn English and to ban Sisters in Islam. Well, that is an advancement of sorts; at least they are not harping on hudud. As for Umno leaders, they cannot even decide whether to continue teaching science and mathematics in English.

Malay leaders should not be deluding the masses with half-baked ideas of “Malay unity.” These leaders succeed only in deluding themselves.

PAS's intolerance and prejudice against SIS

SIS' activities were dangerous as they could cause confusion among the Muslims.

"We are aware that their approach can easily be accepted by the Muslims and this is dangerous as it can twist their aqidah, especially the young and those who went through the secular education,"

The call was made in a motion that was tabled by Shah Alam division at the party's 55th general assembly here yesterday.

The motion which was adopted without debate also called on the fatwa council to investigate in full the activities of carried out by the organisation.

The repercussions of the somewhat clumsy attempt by some sections of PAS to call for the investigation, and possibly banning, of the Muslim women’s rights group Sisters in Islam are still being felt today.

Many questions have arisen in the wake of the proposal that was passed without debate at the recent PAS general assembly: How and why was the proposal passed as one of the ‘non-debated proposals’ in the first place? Why was it not vetted properly and why was it tabled at all? What does this say about PAS's internal cohesion and internal discipline? Does this proposal reflect just a faction of opinion among PAS members, or is it actually representative of the party as a whole? And what does this mean with regards to PAS’s avowed claims to be a modern party that supports the democratisation process and dialogue with others?

It is hard, to say the least, to believe that a party can be supportive of democracy if it starts by calling for the banning of NGOs even before it comes to power…

SIS senior manager Maria Chin Abdullah said the PAS resolution underlined the party’s intolerance and prejudice against the non-governmental organisation, noting it was not even debated in its assembly. While reformists also won in the election, hardliners had a field day sweeping up posts, leaving the moderate voice subdued and cowed.

Many NGO leaders, lawyers and human rights activists who saw a new, moderate and inclusive PAS emerging out of the ashes of its hard-line past, are understandably alarmed.

The Bar Council, for instance, has urged PAS to negotiate and not demand for the banning of SIS simply because they disagree with its views.

But it is the way of wholly religious organisations, here and everywhere else, to be dogmatic and claim to possess the ultimate truth on any issue. Among the three Pakatan allies, PAS is the biggest with a one million membership base and a network that reaches into every village.

PAS is a formidable partner in Pakatan — one that believes its time has arrived to lead the nation.

It is big, strong and confident, and certainly not easily tamed by anyone, Pakatan adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim included.

The alternative is to appease PAS to hold the coalition together — and that’s a dangerous path to travel for secular political parties.

Meanwhile, PAS-ruled state of Kelantan has urged a ban on skimpy outfits in public parks.

"We just want to educate Muslims that they should wear clothes according to Islamic teachings and to the non-Muslims, we encourage them to respect each other in Kelantan," Takiyudin Hasan, the state cabinet minister in charge of local government, tourism and culture said.

Non-Muslim women are to wear tops that have sleeves and which are long enough to cover the waist. Trousers have to be knee-length and there should be no skin-tight outfits.

The local government does not have the legal power to enforce the ban, but previous recommendations it has made, including a ban of heavy make-up and high heels, have been widely obeyed.

PAS's intolerant stand.

Delegates at the PAS general assembly want female reporters to cover up and be separated from the men, Penang delegate Tapiudin Hamzah hit out at the women members of the media who had not covered their heads, saying that even if they did not own headscarves, they could at least make an attempt to cover their heads with handkerchiefs or even rags.

He also questioned why women members of the media were allowed to mingle freely with their male colleagues right in front of PAS leaders.

He said this contravened Islamic teachings.

PAS also want the National Fatwa Council to declare the non-governmental organisation Sister in Islam (SIS) as haram (forbidden) if its activities is found to be contrary to the Islamic teachings and principles.

The call was made in a motion that was tabled by Shah Alam division at the party's 55th general assembly here yesterday.

The motion which was adopted without debate also called on the fatwa council to investigate in full the activities of carried out by the organisation.

The division in its motion said the SIS' activities were dangerous as they could cause confusion among the Muslims.

"We are aware that their approach can easily be accepted by the Muslims and this is dangerous as it can twist their aqidah, especially the young and those who went through the secular education," it said.

In an immediate reaction, SIS's programme manager Norhayati Kaprawi asked if other Pakatan Rakyat parties agree to the motion.

“We would like to know what is DAP's and PKR's view on this matter, because they are in Pakatan and whatever PAS does will reflect on Pakatan,” Norhayati told The Malaysian Insider.

She said the party should make it clear on what issue they disagree with Sisters in Islam.

“This is very intimidating because we are a very small organisation,” said Norhayati.

She also accused PAS of being inconsistent in their stand on freedom of expression.

“PAS talks the language of human rights and freedom of expression but when they disagree with us they want to shut us up, this is hypocrisy,” said Norhayati, adding that “what is right and wrong cannot be based on PAS's standard.”

Norhayati urged PAS to widen their perspective as the party was also supported by non-members in the last general election.

In 2004, The opposition Islamic Malaysian party (PAS) says it will enforce the wearing of headscarves and prohibit non-Muslim women from wearing miniskirts should it win control of the northern state of Kedah.

In 2007, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat blamed women for men’s sleepless nights,and distracting them from prayer.

Previous advice from Mr Nik Abdul Aziz to Malaysia’s women included the suggestion that they would be at a lower risk of being raped if they abandoned their lipstick and perfume.

Nik Abdul Aziz has imposed fines on Muslim women who fail to wear headscarves, and imposed other draconian restrictions. As well as describing smokers as “similar to certain animals which have no brains to think rationally”, he also argued that they should not be allowed to run as candidates in a general election.

He has heavily criticised Malaysia’s endemic corruption, describing bribe-takers as intellectual weaklings who are destined for an eternity in Hell.

During election campaigns, Aziz had often said that only those who support PAS and Islamic law could go to heaven. "PAS supporters in Kelantan will surely be paid back, since with our rules we have managed to ban gambling, karaoke and other bad habits. If people don't vote PAS, it means that that they are in favor of betting, adultery and rape. These people won't go to heaven," he said.

In 1999, Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, who heads the fundamentalist Parti Islam Semalaysia (PAS) which rules eastern Kelantan, reportedly said he had "whispered" to his officers who conduct interviews to recruit the less beautiful.

He said pretty women need not work as they could get rich husbands but those not endowed with good looks must look after themselves.

"Normally, women who are blessed by Allah with good looks are married to rich husbands. If they do not have jobs, it is still not a problem to them," he was quoted as saying.

"This is a fair measure. At least the beautiful have husbands to look after them while the non-beautiful have money."


So,do you believe PAS would be a Saviour if the party is in power one day ?

Pak Lah pretending to be pious ?

Malaysia's Islamic opposition party unleashed an unusually scathing attack against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Friday, accusing him of pretending to be a pious Muslim leader and of ignoring corruption that besets the country.

The criticism by the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party or PAS marked a new push in its campaign to prevent Abdullah's ruling coalition from achieving another landslide victory in national elections, widely expected by early 2008.

"It is shameful that even though he (Abdullah) is famed with his approach of Islam Hadhari (progressive Islam), which has been publicized all over the world, exposures of corruption are increasingly severe in his administration," PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang told the party's annual congress.

UMNO and PAS both vie for the support of ethnic Malay Muslims, who comprise nearly 60 percent of a population that also includes ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities who follow mainly Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism.

Abdul Hadi urged PAS members to prepare for national elections, noting there were signs _ such as a pay hike for government employees _ that indicate Abdullah will call a snap poll soon, even though his mandate only expires in 2009.

Datuk Seri Hadi then called on the party to gear up for snap polls 'The people, including civil servants, the armed forces, the police and others, are being baited...with pay hikes,' he said.

The question now, however, is whether PAS is strong enough to retain control of Kelantan.


Hadi Awang yesterday lashed out at Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, accusing him of, among other things, pretending to be a pious leader while ignoring alleged corruption in the country.

Datuk Seri Hadi alleged that the government had apparently denied, but failed to disprove, opposition allegations of graft, including claims that the country's Defence Ministry paid massive commissions to middlemen in deals to buy Russian aircraft and French submarines.

He was quoted as saying: '(Datuk Seri Abdullah) has not seen this, or perhaps he has fallen asleep.'