Amanah promotes value-based politics, avoids extremism, says party leader

 Azli Yusof says the party wants Malays to be respected for their skills and contributions to society.

Azli Yusof says Amanah’s goal is to nurture a Malay community that is capable, efficient, and able to work alongside other ethnic groups in Malaysia’s plural society.

PETALING JAYA:

 Amanah is seeking to project value‑based politics — a modern and inclusive vision of Islamic politics that it believes Malay voters are ready to embrace, said Azli Yusof, a member of its national leadership committee.

He said that although rooted in Islam, Amanah rejects the kind of extreme or right‑wing approaches adopted by other religion-based political parties that tend to be judgmental.

Azli claimed that the current political discourse often portrays support for certain parties as a reflection of an individual’s piety.

“For example, PAS is often seen as if it represents Islam. If you are not with them, you are considered not Muslim enough.

“That cannot be correct, because Islam is universal. Umno members are among the tens of millions of Muslims. Surely we cannot suggest that a person is barred from heaven simply because he is an Umno member,” he said in an interview with FMT.

Azli said Amanah aims to educate society through politics grounded in values such as integrity, competence and responsibility.

“We want Malays of integrity — those who conduct business responsibly, excel in their fields, and can compete confidently with other communities. That is what we mean by value‑based politics,” said the Shah Alam MP.

He added that Amanah’s goal is to nurture a Malay community that is capable, efficient, and able to work alongside other ethnic groups in Malaysia’s plural society.

“We want Malays who are competent, able to cooperate with other races and respected by friends and opponents,” he said.

Amanah was formed in 2015 by former PAS leaders from the party’s progressive faction, who left after internal elections earlier that year marked a decisive shift toward conservatism.

Its founders Mohamad Sabu, the late Salahuddin Ayub, Mujahid Yusof Rawa, Dzulkefly Ahmad and Khalid Samad, have sought to position their party as modern and inclusive.

A component party of Pakatan Harapan, it currently has 8 MPs. - FMT