PAS is growing increasingly confident that it can capture the coveted prize in Putrajaya come the 16th General Election (GE16).
The Islamist party feels that the time has come for a change of government but it will be the green flag that will be flying from the pinnacle of power.
As seen through PAS lens, Putrajaya is ripe for the plucking.
With the winds of change presumably blowing in its favour, PAS has shifted gear and is now moving away from its hardline conservative stance in its outlook and thinking.
It is reaching out to non-Malays in a dance of politics that it hopes will produce the desired result: they will waltz around the PAS banner and give the party overwhelming victory in the coming polls battle.
The realisation has dawned that the non-Malays can be a deciding factor in federal power play. Without their support, it is next to impossible for PAS president Tan Sri Hadi Awang or any of the party’s senior leader to become the next Prime Minister (PM11).
PAS’ clean track record
During the recent muktamar (general assembly), Hadi declared the readiness of his party to lead the country but based solely on the principles of his religion.
In his mind, only the official religion can solve all the problems besetting our plural society. We do not know how Hadi is going to navigate the turbulent waters of politics and race guided solely by religious laws in a country steeped in constitutional democracy.
At the muktamar, Selangor PAS Youth chief Mohamed Sukri Omar cited the party’s clean record in Kelantan as proof positive that the Islamist party is capable of governing the country.
According to him, no major corruption scandals had rocked the state in all the 30 unbroken years of PAS rule. Never mind if the state economy is nothing to speak about.
After all, mostly non-Muslims and non-Bumiputera are the root cause of corruption as claimed by Hadi.
But there is one big snag: nobody is fooled by PAS re-packaged as a party that is now “open, friendly and caring”. Or wearing a multi-cultural, multi-coloured gown.
No matter how much it tries to scrub clean, the multi-ethnic communities are still wary of this political entity whose president once urged the non-Malays to “just let the majority ethnic group continue to hold the reins of the country”.
The past behaviour of PAS does not give much encouragement to the hope that the multi-ethnic composition of the country will remain intact.
Non-Muslims now kingmakers
The culture of intolerance – long practised by PAS – is not going to disappear overnight if Hadi is sitting in Putrajaya.
If at all, the new rulers (or will it be the ulama?) will perpetuate this culture and most likely introduce new curbs on the cultural practices of our multi-racial society.
Hadi and his followers are obsessed with federal political power because it is only through dominance in Parliament can they overhaul the whole system of government and paved the way for the realisation of a state anchored in religious laws and regulations.
It is unlikely that PAS has given up its ambition of establishing a Negara Islam (Islamic state) or has it settled in favour of Negara Berkebajikan (welfare state) where it will focus on welfare programmes for all races?
However, judging from the speeches at the 71st muktamar in Alor Setar, PAS is whistling a different tune merely for the sake of political expediency.
The thrust of the whole campaign from now on is to go all-out to capture the non-Malay vote bank to secure the key to the doors of political supremacy.
Once Hadi is in the saddle, the future of Malaysia will decidedly change. The million-dollar question is: will it be for the better or for the worse?
Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.
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