Is it yes or is it no?

Another way of looking at this Bernama report would be that as long as PAS remains in Pakatan Rakyat then Malaysia can never be turned into an Islamic State and only if PAS joins Barisan Nasional can Malaysia be turned into an Islamic State. That is the implication or suggestion of this Bernama report.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Pas a casualty in Opposition alliance, say analysts

Pas will not be able to pursue the Islamic State agenda through the opposition alliance as it is strongly opposed by the DAP, said political analysts.

Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Terengganu political science lecturer Asri Salleh said PAS would be a political casualty in the alliance if it continue to pursue the agenda.

"While the DAP has been outspoken against the idea, the PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat) has yet to state its stand on whether it is supporting the agenda. So PAS is forced to compromise its struggle to support the common agenda of the opposition.”

"As such, it is better for PAS to be outside the alliance. Otherwise it is feared that it will eventually be in disarray," he told Bernama here today.

On Jan 9, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang was reported as saying that the party would pursue the Islamic State agenda and would not bow to pressure from members of the alliance.

However, in his blog the next day, Abdul Hadi denied the report and retorted that PAS would be the guardian of the trust entrusted to strengthen Islam as the official religion where changes made would be within the ambit of the constitution.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia's Institute of Ethnic Studies director Prof Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharudin, who also feel that PAS should leave the alliance, said off late PAS was seen to be distancing itself from the alliance in the wake of its foray on the Islamic state agenda.

"This is a sign that PAS wants to get out of the opposition alliance," he said when contacted by Bernama.

He said the Islamic State stance was also aimed at testing the acceptance of PKR adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the DAP. "No harm done if PAS get out of the alliance. Discussions on Islamic State should be convened with a Malay party."

"If PAS is with Barisan Nasional, definitely it will be in a better position. In the opposition alliance, it doesn't get anywhere. So it should think about the unity government again in the interests of the people," he said. --Bernama

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The above news item by Bernama and carried by The Malay Mail paints a very negative picture of PAS indeed. It is not so much the news that is negative but the way they have presented the news. Actually, if you read it properly, it is very positive for Pakatan Rakyat.

But that is how things are done. It is not so much the substance that is the issue but the packaging of the issue. And in the case of PAS, it is a victim of bad packaging. I mean; if you know how to package properly, even boys in Thailand can be made to look more delicious than girls and you would not find out till it is too late that you are a victim of very clever packaging (or that you never realised all these years what you have been missing).

Okay, MCA is telling the Chinese to be very careful of Pakatan Rakyat. If Pakatan Rakyat were to form the federal government then PAS would dominate the government and then Malaysia would be turned into an Islamic State.

Umno, on the other hand, is telling the Malays the opposite -- and that is if Pakatan Rakyat were to form the federal government then DAP would dominate the government and the Malays would be left behind (as if the Malays are not already left behind -- except for the Umno cronies -- with almost 54 years of an Umno-led government).

I have already said this before many times and I will say it again. How can PAS dominate the government when it contests only one-third the seats and wins less than half those seats it contests? Don’t you need a two-thirds majority in Parliament to amend the Federal Constitution of Malaysia to turn Malaysia into a Republic or an Islamic Republic or a Caliphate or an Absolute Monarchy or whatever (from its present Constitutional Monarchy Westminster System of Government)?

But today the government-owned mainstream media is telling us that PAS will never be able to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State because DAP, its partner in Pakatan Rakyat, will block this move. Why are they saying this?

Ah, that is why they are very clever. They are trying to say that DAP is an enemy of Islam. That is the underlying message.

And to reinforce this “DAP is an enemy of Islam” message, they have also raised the issue of the Selangor local councils refusing to bar Malays from being employed by businesses in the state that sell liquor. And they are pointing their fingers at Ronnie Liu -- as if Ronnie from DAP is anti-Islam.

But how can the state bar businesses that dabble in liquor from employing Malays? Does not PERNAS-owned businesses that sell liquor also employ Malays (and is not PERNAS government-owned)? Does not businesses in the KLIA -- such as tax-free shops that sell liquor -- which is in Selangor, also employ Malays? Does not MAS, which dabbles in liquor (and which is government-owned), also employ Malays?

If they really want to bar Malays from being employed by businesses that sell liquor then it first has to be national policy and a law passed by Parliament and the federal government must also do the same. Can the Selangor government raid all the businesses in KLIA and close them down if they sell liquor and employ Malays (since KLIA is in Selangor)?

Even airlines owned by Muslim countries don’t have this policy and even airports in Muslim countries have tax-free shops that sell liquor. And they also do not bar Muslims from drinking on these airlines or from buying liquor in their tax-free shops.

The trouble is they have not thought through this spin properly and if you just put on your thinking cap you can see that this is a bad spin that can blow up in their face.

The objective of this spin is to create friction between PAS and DAP and to show the Chinese that PAS has dangerous Islamic State tendencies and to show the Malays that DAP has dangerous anti-Islam tendencies. They sing one tune to the Chinese and another (opposite) tune to the Malays. But when the Chinese and Malays sit down and compare notes they can see that each community is being told the opposite of what the other community is being told.

“So PAS is forced to compromise,” said the Bernama report. That is negative (they use the word ‘forced’).

"This is a sign that PAS wants to get out of the opposition alliance," said the Bernama report. That is also negative (actually PAS is quite happy in Pakatan Rakyat).

"If PAS is with Barisan Nasional, definitely it will be in a better position,” said the Bernama report. But they did not say in what way PAS will definitely be in a better position if it joins Barisan Nasional. Better position to do what? To turn Malaysia into an Islamic State? Explain, please, explain! In what way will PAS be in a better position if it leaves Pakatan Rakyat and joins Barisan Nasional?

See how Bernama has spun the story with innuendos but with no clear explanation? “PAS is a casualty by remaining in Pakatan Rakyat”. “It would get a better deal by joining Barisan Nasional”.

How has PAS become a casualty in Pakatan Rakyat and how would it get a better deal in Barisan Nasional?

Look, if PAS wants to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State and if DAP is blocking the move (as they say), are they trying to say that if PAS leaves Pakatan Rakyat and joins Barisan Nasional then its aspiration of turning Malaysia into an Islamic State would be realised? Do they mean to say that Barisan Nasional will agree to turn Malaysia into an Islamic State if PAS leaves Pakatan Rakyat and joins Barisan Nasional?

Another way of looking at this Bernama report would be that as long as PAS remains in Pakatan Rakyat then Malaysia can never be turned into an Islamic State and only if PAS joins Barisan Nasional can Malaysia be turned into an Islamic State. That is the implication or suggestion of this Bernama report.

Can we now hear what the other 13 non-Umno members of Barisan Nasional have to say about this? What have MCA, MIC, Gerakan, PPP and the almost ten Sabah and Sarawak parties got to say? Do they agree with what Bernama said?

Be careful what you spin because we too know how to counter-spin. And we can counter-spin better than you can spin. And once we counter-spin we will catch you with your pants down.

Anyway, on another issue, many scream, rant and rave that the Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM) should stay out of the elections because we don’t want to see three-corner fights. Let it be straight fights between Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat to ensure that Pakatan Rakyat would win enough seats to form the next government.

That is what they scream, rant and rave.

Fine, let us make sure that Pakatan Rakyat wins the next election and every by-election in between.

Pakatan Rakyat lost the last two by-elections in Kelantan and Sabah. At the end of this month we will be facing another by-election in Johor. And Malaysia Today has asked for donations to help Pakatan Rakyat win the by-election in Johor at the end of this month.

And do you know how much donations have come in? The UK bank account that we advertised saw only RM200 in donations. And the Bank Islam Kuala Lumpur bank account saw less than RM20,000 in donations.

So don’t talk lah! You all scream, rant and rave but when we ask you to help Pakatan Rakyat we can’t even see RM100,000 in donations (I was hoping to see at least RM200,000 in donations). Barisan Nasional spends RM100 million for every by-election (when you include the overnight development they pour into the constituency). And you expect Pakatan Rakyat to fight Barisan Nasional’s RM100 million with less than RM20,000?

Now do you know why I whack those who talk too much? Yes, I may be cocky and arrogant in my replies to your comments. And that is because you scream, rant and rave but are not really serious about ensuring that Pakatan Rakyat wins the elections. And if the height of your commitment is less than RM20,000 for a by-election then shut the fuck up. Don’t talk too much.