GE15 shows political Islam has gained popularity, says Hadi’s son

 

Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi said in GE15, PAS won 49 seats although the Islamic party was never expected to win more than 10% of the 222 parliamentary seats. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Political Islam has gained popularity in Malaysia and the conservative religious politics of PAS is becoming more attractive to the young and first-time voters as shown in the general election, says a party leader.

Chairman of the PAS international affairs and external relations council, Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi, said early analytical reports indicate that new young voters supported the party, although their turnout was not as huge as other age groups.

“The political landscape in Malaysia is changing drastically. Looking forward, as part of Perikatan Nasional, PAS which has always been seen as a religious and conservative party shall prepare itself as part of the government in waiting and function diligently as the party having the most seats in Dewan Rakyat.

“People are anxiously waiting on how the cleric-dominated party will contribute to the country especially on welfare and economic issues,” he said in an article in the party’s organ Harakahdaily.

Khalil, who is PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s son, said in the 15th general election it won the greatest number of seats among all parties with 49 although the Islamic party was never expected to win more than 10% of the 222 parliamentary seats.

He said this was based on the results of the last three national elections, where PAS had won only between 18 and 23 seats.

He added that prior to GE15, it was widely accepted that Terengganu, Kelantan, Perlis, and Kedah were the only northern Malay heartlands where PAS and its brand of conservative Islam were most prevalent.

“Outside its usual strongholds, the party could only win if there were to be a significant change in the voting pattern of both existing voters and, more importantly, new voters.

“In GE15, we witnessed this change in voting pattern for PAS all over the country. In Penang, which is considered one of Malaysia’s most liberal states and has the country’s only Chinese chief minister, PAS won two seats.”

He said in the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat, PAS managed to force out Anwar Ibrahim’s daughter Nurul Izzah of Pakatan Harapan, adding that the seat had been held by Anwar, his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and his daughter since 1986.

He attributed the party’s stellar performance mainly to the wave of young Malay voters getting their first-hand information from social media platforms such as TikTok .

Khalil, who is Batu Buruk assemblyman in Terengganu, said statistics showed that 60% of the six million new voters were Malays, adding that those in their mid-20s to mid-30s tend to be conservative regardless of race.

“As for those between 18 and 21 years old, they are looking forward to change and prefer candidates whose messages reflect the concerns of their generation,” he added. - FMT