With elections looming, Hadi presents two faces to voters

 

A statement by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang last week appears to have gone unnoticed, if only by the media who did not pick it up despite Hadi’s conciliatory tone, unlike his usual brashness that is unsettling to non-Muslims.

Writing in his column in the party organ HarakahDaily, he said PAS accepts the concept of moderation where there won’t be any force used against any religious practices as long as no one acts extremely against other religions.

He went on to say that since this concept is guaranteed in the Federal Constitution, PAS will oppose any quarters who try to defy this.

Hadi, whose pronouncements are regarded almost like Gospel truth for a section of PAS supporters, said racial fanaticism is “haram” (forbidden) although it is natural for human beings to love one’s own religion, family and racial identity.

However no one should go above their religious beliefs and break the limits. But his subsequent paragraph negated all his exhortations, and left me wondering if this Malay-supremacist champion meant what he had said.

Hadi said: “Because pure Islam does not force others and is fair to people of all races, PAS emphasises that it is mandatory for an Islamic leadership. Only Islam has the spiritual beliefs that brings about self-control personally and civilised behaviour in social (settings) and politics.”

He added that this concept has been embedded in the Malay-Muslim community and must be respected by others. In view of this, he said, PAS will oppose racial fanatics and liberals and anyone who is extreme to the point of losing their morality.

Hadi appears to be contradicting his own stand. On one hand he says Islam is fair to all races and fanaticism is forbidden but in the same breath adds that an Islamic leadership is mandatory and this must be respected by all.

No one disputes that Islam indeed has beautiful tenets that enjoin its followers to treat everyone equally and fairly, without the use of force on anyone.

So Hadi’s statement is a bundle of contradictions, to say the least. Yet this is the brand of politicial Islam practised by PAS to try and remain in power and eventually to be the majority party in a ruling coalition.

Malaysians have not forgotten how Hadi masterminded the fall of the Pakatan Harapan government in 2020, using the race and religious card incisively.

At that time, PAS leaders were openly saying that there were too many non-Malay ministers and deputies in the government, with Hadi saying all key ministerial positions must be helmed by Malay-Muslims. This was despite the fact that more than two-thirds of the PH Cabinet were already made up of Muslims.

The party had also distributed the list of the number of non-Muslim elected representatives which it said had too many non-Malays. He knows the fact that these representatives were voted in by all races. PAS was not happy and used this as a bogeyman to spook the Malays.

Even in the past three months Hadi and several PAS leaders had intruded into the constitutional rights of non-Muslims by calling for action against concerts and alcohol consumption, among other matters.

An obvious message from his statement appears to be clear. Hadi obviously knows from news reports and social media that non-Muslims are pretty upset about his blatant use of the race and religious card which sounds very unreasonable to many.

So with a general election to be held soon, he has begun to placate non-Muslims by saying PAS accepts the concept of moderation and that everyone is equal, and that the party will oppose any form of racism.

Right after that, Hadi says all races in Malaysia should have an Islamic leadership because pure Islam does not force others and is fair to all races. I agree with him but also must remind him that all other religions also have a focus on being fair, honest and treating humanity with kindness. And of course, all religions abhor corruption.

Hadi’s call for an Islamic leadership immediately after saying PAS will practise the concept of moderation is obviously meant for the Malay-Muslim audience with the election approaching. Can we trust a party like PAS then to lead a multiracial and multi-religious secular country like Malaysia?

Actually, PAS is already practising a political concept whereby there are two classes of members in the party, the main Malay-Muslim wing and the minority non-Muslim wing. Members in its non-Muslim wing have absolutely no voting rights and cannot hold any leadership position in the party.

Obviously, this is an indication what it will practice when it comes to power, with non-Muslims being made second class citizens. While most Malaysians hope this won’t happen, nothing is certain in a country where political parties use race and religion blatantly to obtain or stay in power. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.