The Islamist party’s promises are set to be focussed on low income earners rather than just Bumiputera quotas which favour the elite.
It will state its stand on Islam, political and economic position of the Malays will be the highlights of the convention dubbed Konvensyen Nasional Pengupayaan Bangsa — Jaminan PAS (National Convention for Empowering the People — PAS’s Guarantees).
“After we started to lose Malay votes in the by-elections, we asked ourselves how to regain the eight to 15 per cent Malay protest vote from the 2008 general election,” central working committee member Dzulkefly Ahmad told The Malaysian Insider.
In the tripartite PR alliance, PAS has gradually found that it has to spearhead the drive for Malay votes against its rival Umno.
However, PR has seen a decline in Malay support since July 2009 where a by-election in the 99 per cent Malay seat of Manek Urai, Kelantan saw a 1,352-vote majority for PAS in their stronghold cut to a wafer-thin 65.
Malays continued to swing towards Barisan Nasional (BN) in subsequent polls from about seven to 10 per cent, allowing the ruling coalition to grab Hulu Selangor and Galas from PR.
The most recent by-election in Tenang, Johor, saw PR fail to make any headway among the mainly Felda Malays as BN swept over 83 per cent of Malay votes to increase its majority by over 1,200 votes.
Dzulkefly said that by addressing the three key areas of politics, economy and religion, PAS would “contest areas which Umno says is theirs.”
“There has been stiffer contestation for Malay votes between PAS and Umno since 2008 and it will get stiffer in the final countdown to the next polls,” the Kuala Selangor MP added.
The convention will see PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang make a policy speech that will attempt to reframe the question of Malay participation in the economy in terms of “disposable income rather than equity,” said Dzulkefly.
“We will move away from talking about the 30 per cent Bumiputera quota because this only serves Umno’s 20 per cent elite. Instead, we will talk about the income levels of the poorest 40 per cent, where 73 per cent are Bumiputeras who earn RM1,500 per month or less,” he said.
Dzulkefly said that this will be achieved through initiatives like microfinancing, minimum wage and education rather than equity and quota requirements.
He added that an approach of looking out for all low-income households would also overcome the fear of non-Malays who are wary of the party’s Islamic state agenda.
Penang Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution will also attend to show support from PAS’s partners.
The former PAS research chief said that Abdul Hadi will reinforce this message by rejecting Ketuanan Melayu (Malay Supremacy) for Kedaulatan Rakyat (Sovereignty of the People) which espouses Islamic principles of justice and prosperity for all citizens.
“With this, PAS will hope to overcome the zero sum game between Malay and non-Malay voters,” he said. - Malaysian Insider
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