Can Amanah succeed where others fail?

Anyone who has vaguely studied the history of Islamic political discourse in Malaysia would have come across - perhaps become awestruck - by a martial-sounding Islamic social activist group: Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim).

Anyone who has delved into Abim, too, would not have missed the important role played by prime-minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim in trying to make Islam a relevant political force in Malaysia as well.

Instead of an Islam that is ceremonial in nature, Abim and Anwar tried to make Islam 'work'. And one of the first Malaysian prime ministers who tried to enable Islam to become a force of good was Dr Mahathir Mohamad, when he inducted Anwar into Umno in 1981.

Regardless of what had happened between Mahathir and Anwar in the fallout of the Asian financial crisis in 1998, one thing remains true: both are deep believers in protecting the interest of the Muslim world, and consequently, the non-Muslims that come under their charge.

Whereas Mahathir was audacious enough to criticise the West, Anwar was unrelenting in demanding democracy. The goal of the latter? To make Islam a democratic force to be contend with, where all the good habits of democracy and institutional accountability can take hold.

Thus, almost from the very beginning, Abim would speak about the uneven economic development of Malaysia in the 1970s; the injustices that affect all the races; the lack of proper governance; indeed, the absence of any form of genuine freedom and democracy to talk about the importance of justice.

Not surprisingly, the earlier generation of Abim thinkers often found themselves under detention. However, if one cares to look even more deeply into the history of such Islamic discourse, it wasn't Anwar that tried to raise the flag of Islam alone. The likes of Yusuf Rawa, Fadzil Noor, both of whom had passed on, were the first torch bearers too.

But it was Mohamad Sabu, the present defence minister, who took his Islamic struggle into PAS, and ultimately, Amanah. Yet, Amanah remains an entity that is seen through the prism of how many ministerial portfolios it has since been entrusted by Mahathir, but not what the party itself can achieve, with a bit of strategic thinking.

In an excellent academic article, ‘Rethinking the Role of Islam in Malaysian Politics: A Case Study of Parti Amanah Negara’, the current education minister, Maszlee Malik, did an excellent blow-by-blow analysis of how Abim and Pertubuhan Ikram Malaysia (Ikram) left Gerakan Baru Harapan on Aug 31, 2015, to form Amanah on Sept 16, 2015. Both decisions were executed with the consent of Mohamad Sabu, better known as Mat Sabu.

To be sure, the focus on the two dates were unmistakable, as they both signified the birth of Malaya, subsequently, Malaysia, on Aug 31 and Sept 16 respectively. For the lack of a better phrase, it seems that Amanah was bent on liberating itself from PAS, invariably, to define its own direction as a Muslim democratic party that is consistent with the spirit of the late Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

The attempt to emancipate itself from PAS is understandable. By the 61st PAS Muktamar (annual general assembly) in mid-2015, it was clear that PAS president Abdul Awang Hadi had found it impossible to work with the more progressive elements in the party as represented by Mat Sabu and others who followed him.

Whereas Hadi was fixated on hudud, which is a form of Islamic criminal law, other members who did not embrace such a legalistic, indeed, punitive view, of Islam had begun voicing their dissent. Thus the likes of Mat Sabu, Salahuddin Ayub, Khalid Samad, Dzulkefly Ahmad, Anuar Tahir, Dr Mariah Mahmud, Hatta Ramli, and Husam Musa eventually ditched PAS.

To be sure, this move has not only split Malays into several groups but practically forced them to look into Islam all over, without which Islam would neither gain power nor be able to function in a multiracial society.

Islamic democracy

Amanah was all for Islamic democracy - the likes of which had been favoured by Rachid Ghannouchi of Ennahdha Party (Party of Light in Tunisia). To be sure, Anwar was a keen student of Ghannouchi whereas Mat Sabu was drawn to the thoughts of Ghannouchi, as well as Malek Bennabi and Ali Shariati.

All three thinkers stressed the importance of making Islam relevant to the democratic spirit. More importantly, the likes of Bennabi and Ghannouchi both affirmed that any attempt to prevent colonisation, the mind itself must not be colonisable first. The mind would, of course, be protected by sound, accountable and good institutions where freedom of speech and association can prevail.

Granted that Mat Sabu is a deep believer in all three thinkers, while Anwar has been imprisoned twice before only to be recently freed and redeemed by a royal pardon that went as far back as 1998 on the ground of "miscarriage of justice," can the duo remap the trajectory of their respective parties? Can their political parties become the vehicle to showcase the characters of global political Islam?

As things are, there are no indications that Amanah can go global as yet. After all, it only has 150,000 members to date, with another 100,000 members making a beeline to joining them after the grand victory on May 9, 2018. Accordingly, Malik Maszlee believes that Amanah, indeed most politicians in Malaysia, are still not deep thinkers, as per the politics in Malaysia that do not demand profound intellectual thought.

This is where Amanah has to be careful, as Maszlee is not entirely remissed. To begin with, as and when the discourse of national politics has always been top down - that is, until the results of May 9 partially upended the process - all intellectual dissent was almost dismissed as sheer pulp from the bottom up.

Umno is a classic example of how the lack of creative debate in the grassroots has led to its own self-destruction; especially when the constant suspension of party elections had failed to allow the creme of the party's own talents to come to the top. For a party to go global, it must have regular elections where bright thinkers can be spotted and nurtured.

Secondly, Amanah has encountered difficulties in reaching out to the people at large, regardless of their religious affiliations. Many do not know that Amanah is ready to fend for all, not just Muslims or Malays. From the interviews given by Mat Sabu and deputy president Salahuddin Ayub, it is clear that both of them want to fend for all races. This multiracial character needs to be brought out, without which Amanah would be seen as a Malay-Muslim party only, when it fact it welcomes the fellowship and membership of all faiths.

Thirdly, Amanah is stepping into the global podium where the likes of other political Islamic parties had failed, the likes of which have included PAS that is trapped in a legalistic mindset in Malaysia; Ikhwan Al Muslimin (otherwise known as Muslim Brotherhood), Hamas which is entwined in a conflict with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel. Amanah can learn, and transcend, their shortcomings.

By engineering a smooth transition of power in the 14th general election in Malaysia, Amanah and Pakatan Harapan have shown that they are a serious democratic force to be contend with. Be that as it may, Amanah has to be able to learn from other parties, including Bersatu, DAP, PKR and many more from across the world.

Unless and until Amanah can stand shoulder to shoulder to confront the issues of serious financial malfeasance in Malaysia, as perpetrated by Umno and BN, Amanah still risk being seen through the optic of previous failures in South Asia and Middle East; where Islamic parties appeared, and perished, without any democratic legacy at all.

To succeed, Amanah must go beyond winning elections in Malaysia to winning the hearts and minds of all groups and races. Barring such an effort, which should be pioneered by the deep thinkers of Amanah, the latter could fall off the radar as Abim did after 1990s.

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PHAR KIM BENG is a Harvard/Cambridge Commonwealth Fellow, a former Monbusho scholar at the University of Tokyo and visiting scholar at Waseda University. - Mkini