
By R Dineskumar
Pas is desperately trying to win over the hearts and minds of the ethnic minorities and non-Muslims.
The Islamist party, at its 70th annual conference last month, passed a motion that would amend its constitution to allow non-Muslims, except atheists, to become associate members. Conference delegates unanimously approved the motion.
Since its establishment, Pas has catered to non-Muslims through its Dewan Himpunan Penyokong Pas (Pas supporters’ assembly). This assembly will now be elevated to become a party wing following the amendment to accept non-Muslim associate members.
According to Pas secretary general Takiyuddin Hassan, the non-Muslim wing will be allowed to vote and be elected for positions within the wing. (They will not be able to vote for party leaders).
- Sign up for Aliran's free daily email updates or weekly newsletters or both
- Make a one-off donation to Persatuan Aliran Kesedaran Negara, CIMB a/c 8004240948
- Make a pledge or schedule an auto donation to Aliran every month or every quarter
- Become an Aliran member
Pas leaders at the annual conference also suggested ways to attract the ethnic minorities.
The party’s youth chief, Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden, has urged the wing’s members to learn Mandarin and Tamil to help them engage with the ethnic minorities and convey to them the party’s efforts to increase their support.
Meanwhile, Pas deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man suggested that the youth wing could organise trips for non-Muslims to Pas-controlled states – Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu. Visitors could witness how the party administered these states and the relations between Malay-Muslims and minorities.
Some leaders also came up with absurd takes on how to draw in the minorities. Selangor Pas youth wing secretary Aubidullah Fahim Ibrahim suggested that members could marry minorities to increase support for the party.
“A mixed marriage would not just be able to secure one vote, but hundreds from the non-Malay community,” he said.
What an absurd idea. How would it even work?
The idea was panned heavily by the public, and Aubidullah eventually retracted his suggestion by saying he was merely joking.
Minority votes badly needed
Pas’ move in opening up the party to non-Muslims and its leaders’ voter engagement strategies are driven by one thing: opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional needs minority support to take over Putrajaya.
Ethnic Malay support for Pas-dominated PN has plateaued. The opposition coalition is enjoying solid, uncompromising support from the Malay base.
Some might argue that this is not exactly the case following the coalition’s losses in the recent Nenggiri and Mahkota by-elections.
But do not let Umno’s win in both state seats convince you that PN is beginning to bleed Malay support. This is unlikely to happen, for now.
With Malay support for PN at its peak, the coalition has begun setting its sight on the minority voters. After all, the coalition is unable to make inroads in heavily mixed seats and largely minority areas without amassing ethnic Indian and Chinese votes.
Undoubtedly, the right-wing PN has been struggling to entice these voters, thanks to utter failure of the coalition’s diversity tokens Gerakan, the Bersatu associate wing and the Pas non-Muslim supporters’ group in drawing in these voters.
Why would the minorities for parties that are backward, misogynistic, bigoted and obsessed with moral policing?
Has Pas forgotten how a Terengganu executive councillor from the party threw a fit when two Malay female divers took part in Sukma, the national sports meet, in Sarawak? This despite female Muslim athletes being barred from taking part in diving and gymnastics over attire issues.
Yes, the only applies to female Muslims. But let’s not forget that Pas-controlled states have imposed their Islamist policies on non-Muslims in these states as well.
Look at the ban on 4D gaming shops and the fine on a female business owner for wearing shorts.
Pas has repeatedly stated its hardline policies would not affect the lives of non-Muslims. This is nothing but a blatant lie.
Why wouldn’t non-Muslims and the ethnic minorities be worried that females would be subjected to similar restrictions, with even sports attire being made an issue?
Why wouldn’t non-Muslim females be worried that a Pas-controlled government would police what they wear in public in a Talibanistic fashion and impose fines on them for ‘indecent attire’?
Recall too how party president Hadi Awang accused non-Muslims and the minorities of being “the root of corruption”, as he claimed the majority of them are involved in corruption.
One wonders Hadi, who has a Chinese daughter-in-law, could make such an atrocious claim. So far, he has not yet apologised for making such a claim.
The Pas’ non-Muslim supporters group, instead of rebuking Hadi, defended him by saying the Marang MP was “misunderstood”. What utter rubbish. Which ethnic minority voters in their right mind would embrace the party after seeing how this group defended Hadi?
Remember when PN chairman Mahiaddin Yasin said that Pakatan Harapan was an agent of the Jews and Christians who were out to colonise Malaysia in the run-up to the 2022 general election.
How can Pas now expect Christians to vote for it and PN when they are subjected to bigoted conspiracy theories that they are out there to control Malaysia?
Since PN became the opposition, its politicians have consistently fueled fear and anger among conservative Malay Muslims against the Pakatan Harapan-led government. They claim the government is not Malay Muslim enough and imply that it is controlled by the DAP.
Open your eyes, Pas
Pas needs to come to terms that its politics, as well as PN’s, is turning off the the minorities. Unfortunately, both entities are unlikely to recognise their faults and remain devoid of ideas on how to draw the minorities.
It is true that a small percentage of minority voters have thrown their support to PN in last year’s state elections and recent by-elections.
But this voting pattern is probably motivated by unhappiness among minorities with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Pakatan Harapan. These people are unhappy because they think their votes are being taken for granted. Or they do not like certain government policies. They may also think that the cost of living is too high.
Their vote for PN is not because they believe in Pas and PN.
Minority voters are not naïve. They sense the real agenda behind Pas’ attempt to entice them. They are well aware that the party will promise them that its politics will not affect the non-Muslims. But they also worry that the party will ditch such promises and violate their rights with Taliban-like policies when they come into power.
The question that we have to ask Pas leaders is this: Are they even aware how phony their outreach to the minorities is?
R Dineskumar is an Aliran member and journalist. He is a passionate follower of Malaysia’s socio-political scene and writes about it on his blog – The Mutiara Sentinel www.mutiarasentinel.com
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
Love them or loathe them, at least PAS is not hypocritical about its way unlike the DAP. Ramkarpal won the Penang DAP elections with the most number of votes but Steven Sim was appointed DAP state chairman.
That PAS has a non Muslim supporters wing is already a great mystery to me. Don’t the members in this group see PAS for its racist and bigotted views?
I recall once reading how it would take about 30 to 40 years for Kelantan to resolve its water issues – this is a model of progress? And let’s not talk about the social ills that Kelantan “leads” among all Malaysian states.