The ‘holy’ name of PAS

 

From Ibrahim M Ahmad

One of the main questions troubling the unity government is how to address the increasingly right wing positions our Malay political parties have moved towards in a bid to secure the community’s vote.

PAS, in particular, is moving towards ultra conservatism. Its success at GE 15 and the recent six state elections is troubling for the country, and for moderate Malays and non-Malays alike.

It seems to have left Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in a quandary. Anwar appears to be increasingly drawn both in his political battles and on administrative matters towards the right wing in an effort to meet, challenge and beat PAS at its own game.

That is a strategy which is bound to fail.

First and foremost, in the eyes of many deeply religious Malays, Anwar, being a layman, can never claim to be more religious than the ulama.

Secondly, the increasingly far right positions on race and religion which he is forced to take will surely alienate the non-Malays, which presently form the bulk of his support base.

But what is it that is drawing the Malays to the far right in the first place?

A photograph of a PAS election banner circulated on social media just prior to the Aug 12 state polls suggested one major reason.

The banner read: “[X] PN = [X] PAS = masuk syurga.”

In effect, it said a vote for PN is a vote for PAS, and guarantees the voter a place in heaven.

It is no secret that PAS rides openly on its status as an “Islamic” party. PN, in turn, rides on PAS’s Islamic credentials.

Those credentials are given to PAS by default on account of its name. In fact, Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, founded in 1951, is the only active major political party with the word “Islam” emblazoned in its name.

That gives it the authority to claim that it is the only party for Muslims, and therefore the rightful party for the Malays. Its leaders openly claim it is the only one sanctioned by the divine, justifying various controversial religious pronouncements made purely to further the party’s political aims.

But should PAS be allowed to carry the word “Islam” in its name?

The Societies Act 1966 allows the Registrar of Societies (RoS) to refuse the registration of a society if its name “appears to the Registrar to mislead or be calculated to mislead members of the public as to the true character or purpose of the society” or if it “is in the opinion of the Registrar, undesirable”.

With so much talk about Islam being used as a “political tool”, there is certainly an argument for saying that PAS’s name can mislead the public as to the party’s “true character” or that it is “undesirable”.

If so, should the party be allowed to retain its name?

Requiring the party to remove the word “Islam” from its name would go some way towards levelling the playing field for the Malay parties in the country and ensuring that PAS does not misuse religion for political gain.

Perhaps, the home minister, the RoS and PAS’s political opponents should give the matter some thought. - FMT

Ibrahim M Ahmad is an FMT reader.

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