Non-Muslim view of Pas has changed since March 8

KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 - By Adib Zalkapli | malaysianinsider

Despite repeated accusations from its rival Umno that Pas has departed from its ideology since forming an alliance with the secular DAP and PKR after the last general election its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said the party has always been consistent.

"Islamic laws have never changed. There are conditions to be fulfilled before Islamic laws can be implemented. Non-Muslims cannot be forced, but the laws are not repealed when the conditions are not satisfied," said Hadi in an interview recently.

The party's stand on increasing the role of Islam in governance has always been an impediment to closer cooperation among the federal opposition parties.

A coalition formed on the eve 1999 general election, the Barisan Alternatif, collapsed two years later due to ideological differences.

The last general election saw Pas changing its approach where it campaigned on the platform of creating a welfare state but Hadi said the party's ideology remains unchanged.

Its changed approach resulted in Pas being labelled a flip-flop party by Barisan Nasional in the Kuala Terengganu by-election last January.

"Pas has no problem with with any party. Despite repeated accusations from its rival Umno that Pas has departed from its ideology since forming an alliance with the secular DAP and PKR after the last general election its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang said the party has alw with any party. We believe in Islam which has been successfully practiced for the past 1,300 years," said the Marang MP.

"The fall of Islamic governments started when Muslim leaders abandoned its teachings and not because Islam has weaknesses," he added.

Hadi argued that it was Pas that has been successful in making the non-Muslims more receptive to the party, which can be seen through the formation of the party's supporters club.

"We have even changed the non-Muslims' perception towards Islam. We have bridged the divide between us and the non-Muslims," said Hadi.

The results of the March 8 general election resulted in Pas becoming the opposition party with the least number of seats in Parliament unlike in 1999 when it dominated the opposition bench.

But Hadi insisted as the opposition party with the most experience, Pas has benefited from joining Pakatan Rakyat.

"We have benefited a lot, as we are the most experienced party in Pakatan Rakyat, it is not that we are not taking advantage of this, but we wish to forge a close relationship among Pakatan parties," said Hadi.

"Perhaps for DAP and PKR this is the first time they are ruling a state government but we have experienced this before, including what happened in Perak we have faced it in Terengganu and Kelantan in the 50s, 60s and 70s," he added.

Still, the March 8 election also made the ideological divide within Pas became clearer, after it was revealed that some leaders were in favour of political cooperation with Umno while some preferred to remain with PKR and DAP.

Hadi however was non-committal when asked about the disagreements within the party.

"In Islam there is no conservative and no liberal but there are certain things that cannot be questioned. On non-fundamental matters we can disagree, and that is why there are dozens of school of thoughts in Islam," said Hadi.

While the party's two highest decision making bodies, the central committee and the religious scholars' consultative council, had last year stopped the attempt to cooperate with Umno, Hadi is now floating the idea of a unity government involving all political parties.

In victory or defeat, Nizar the embodiment of Pas For All.

Shannon Teoh | malaysianinsider

The smiles say it all as Nizar and his wife, with Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham beside them (in pink shirt) celebrating Chap Goh Meh in Kg Bali. — Pic by Choo Choy May

IPOH, Feb 11 — In Kampung Bali, situated just outside Tronoh and some 30 km south of Ipoh, there was no doubt that Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin is still mentri besar.

Despite his fast-fading hopes of holding onto power in the ongoing Constitutional crisis engulfing Perak, he can call his 11-month-old tenure an unqualified success based on the reception he received during his one-hour visit to this outpost of heartland Chinese on Monday night.

Kampung Bali has been a DAP stronghold for decades and here, one gets the sense that the demonisation of Pas all these years has perhaps finally come undone.

On March 8 last year, the DAP-led electoral alliance took hold of the Perak state government and in the early days, there was tension within Pakatan Rakyat (PR) over the choice of mentri besar.

But that was then, and this is now: wholehearted cheers went up among the 300-strong audience — among them, shirtless men — at the new village’s Chap Goh Mei celebrations when Nizar arrived and they mobbed him to get a chance to shake his hand.

While Nizar and his wife were served KFC for dinner, which The Malaysian Insider can confirm he devoured happily, the sight of a leader from the Islamist Pas sitting to sup with a Chinese crowd and hugging toddlers was enough for the locals to swig crates of beer and even break out bottles of wine.

That they felt comfortable indulging in alcohol before a pious Muslim shows the sort of inroads the ideologically disparate coalition has made among its grassroots.

In an exclusive interview with The Malaysian Insider today, Nizar said this was down to a collective pursuit of justice by the PR state government.

“People are seeking for the truth. In their heart, they are craving for justice like any normal human being.

“We come from different backgrounds, cultures and race. If it was not because of justice, we would not have come together,” he said.

That night in Kampung Bali, he gave a speech in Chinese-accented Bahasa Malaysia, presenting his arguments in simple terms but with a smattering of Cantonese.

“Umno manyak jahat, dia mau buang ini cheng fu (Umno is very evil, it is trying to get rid of this government),” he said, without ever sounding condescending, as he played the jester for the night; the Malay man trying to fit in with the Chinese crowd.

“Sekalang kita ada lua MB, lua cheng fu, tapi kita hou leng punya, Umno hou sui (Now we have two MBs, two governments but we are the authentic one, Umno’s is false),” he added.

Today, Perak’s 10th mentri besar presented the same argument.

“Ironically in the Kuala Terengganu by-election, a group called Umno comprised of one race and one religion had a lot of infighting.

“In Perak we had 31 assemblymen from three different parties and different cultures working together whereas Umno has one kind of people, one race, one religion but they still couldn't unify.”

The current popularity of Nizar is in stark contrast to the accepted reality a year ago when Pas had launched its “Pas For All” slogan ahead of the general election in a bid to overcome the “unelectable” taboo it had within non-Muslim majority constituencies.

But on Monday night, there was unanimous support for Nizar to contest in the Bukit Gantang by-election.

Wholehearted cheers went up among the300-strong audience in welcoming Nizar. — Pic by Choo Choy May

Loud cheers went up when Perak DAP secretary Nga Kor Ming said Nizar would be the best candidate for Bukit Gantang.

“As you can see, even the Chinese here support Nizar,” he said and on cue, the crowd roared its approval.

Perhaps Pas had not expected this level of success just a year into its campaign.

With just six assemblymen in what was a 31-strong Perak PR government, a Pas mentri besar seemed an uneasy compromise for the alliance.

Then, Pas For All meant a promise that Nizar would not usurp the clout of the larger PKR (then seven) and DAP (18) representation in his government.

“We have practised this in the last 11 months, that we are not as what we were negatively perceived to be. I am proud to say that I can work with DAP leaders,” Nizar said in the interview.

Today, it has become unthinkable among PR’s grassroots support that anyone else could head Perak’s government.

For them, there is only one candidate to be Perak’s 12th mentri besar.