Don’t judge Nasrudin by how he dresses
Nasrudin won the Pas youth chief post uncontested after Salahuddin relinquished the post he had held for six years to contest one of the three party vice-presidencies.
Zubaidah Abu Bakar, New Straits Times
PAS Youth chief Nasrudin Hassan is easily branded a conservative ulama simply by how he dresses.
In his newly energised party, however, looks alone can be deceiving. Nasrudin, a young ulama at 39, wants to be judged on his work, not his attire.
His English may be poor, even in comparison with his predecessor Salahuddin Ayob, but Nasrudin is certainly not living in the past nor detached from present political realities.
He well understands the demands of an Islamic movement like the Dewan Pemuda he now heads.
"We will continue to try to come closer to all Malaysians," Nasrudin was quoted as saying yesterday. "In fact, we will explore all the areas that we have not penetrated yet."
Nasrudin blogs, is on Facebook, and is into sharing ideas with leaders of the Youth wings of Pakatan Rakyat component parties.
His counterparts in Parti Keadilan Rakyat and the Democratic Action Party expect him to pick up where Salahuddin left off in cooperating with them in Pakatan Rakyat.
PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Mat Akin and DAP Socialist Youth (Dapsy) chief Anthony Loke were present at the opening of the Pas Youth assembly on Wednesday, which Shamsul Iskandar said "showed that we are looking forward to working closely with the new leader".
Loke, too, believes Nasrudin will keep up the effort to empower Pakatan Rakyat through engagement.
They recognise his awareness of the need for Pas to be progressive and project a more moderate and friendly image, as stressed by outgoing Pas Youth head Salahuddin in his policy speech.
Nasrudin won the Pas youth chief post uncontested after Salahuddin relinquished the post he had held for six years to contest one of the three party vice-presidencies.
During his tenure, the secular-trained Salahuddin won plaudits for engaging Pas Youth with non-governmental organisations, the government and private sector.
He left with one important message in his last policy speech, urging that the Youth wing should take the lead in turning Pas into the driving force of Pakatan Rakyat.
"We are not a sleeping partner in Pakatan or just there as a filler," Salahuddin said. "We want Pas to be the backbone of Pakatan."
Salahuddin also hoped the young ulama in Pas would utilise the interactive electronic media to preach to and attract the younger generation.
Loke says of Salahuddin's successor: "Things will not necessarily move backwards because the new leader is an ulama. Let's give him a chance. We cannot judge a person by his dressing."
Nasrudin wears the headgear or serban; his favourite colours are white and black. He also wears the jubah or long robe and sports a goatee.
Salahuddin, by contrast, is usually seen in baju Melayu and songkok, although he occasionally dons the jubah and white skullcap.
Nasrudin, an Islamic law graduate of Egypt's famed Al-Azhar University, says a white turban makes him feel like an ustaz (religious teacher) and helps him conduct himself as a proper Muslim in word and deed.
A black turban, he says, makes him feel strong and brave to face the enemy, whoever they may be.
Nasrudin and other young ulama in the Dewan Pemuda know that moderation is the key to success for Pas. They saw how conservative ulama in the party absorbed a painful lesson from the 2004 general election, when their insistence on an Islamic state was rejected by voters in 2004.
Pas ended up with only five parliamentary seats and saw its impressive gains of 1999 slashed in Terengganu, Selangor, Kedah, Perlis and Perak.
The party made a remarkable turnaround after that, adopting a moderate stance and shifting away from fundamentalist rhetoric.
The "moderation strategy" adopted by the party's so-called young Turks, trained in secular and religious disciplines and led by party deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa, has broadened Pas' appeal among non-Muslims.
Pas Youth under Salahuddin played a pivotal role, wooing youth through its outreach programmes.
Pas had benefited when many young Malays abandoned Umno, with those of a religious inclination joining Pas and boosting the party's claimed membership to nearly a million.
Efforts to woo non-Muslims and the Malay middle ground, who significantly supported Pas in the 1999 general election but swung back to BN in 2004, were rewarded in last year's general election.
Pas won big in its heartland of Kelantan, which it had been holding by a one-vote majority in the state legislature, and found a new power base in Kedah along with a fairly large share of parliamentary and state seats in Perak and Selangor.
How far Pas Youth under Nasrudin is willing to cooperate will be closely watched by both friends and foes, and will be crucial to Pakatan Rakyat.
