Friend or foe? The old challenge
(NST) WHEN Pas wants to defend its decisions and policies, the party routinely cites Quranic verses and the experiences of the Prophet and the four revered caliphs.
So when it came to the contentious issue of unity talks with Umno, leaders for and against the scope and objective of the idea used equally compelling stories to justify their positions.
"The Quran says that when your enemies act evilly against you, you must respond by doing good so that they may gradually come around to your side," argued pro-dialogue leader Datuk Harun Taib.
On the other side, Shah Alam member of parliament Khalid Samad warned the party not to fall for Umno's "tricks", pointing to how fourth caliph Ali Abu Talib was back-stabbed by arch-rival Muawiyah Abu Sufyan when the latter proposed his own "unity talks".
The debate was essentially on the conundrum between continuing a destructive fight against an old enemy and constructively engaging it.
Deputy president Nasharuddin Mat Isa rightly said the issue would continue to play on the minds of members and leaders long after the muktamar (assembly) was over.
"This is not the first time we are dealing with this issue and the party has experience managing differing opinions," Nasharuddin said at the end of the assembly.
The wounds of Umno's "betrayal" are kept fresh to this day by leaders like Kota Baru MP Datuk Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah, who recounted the "dark days" when Umno ruled Kelantan up to 1990.
"They bullied us. They even once kidnapped five of our assemblymen to force them to cross over to Umno," claimed Wan Abdul Rahim.
A group of activists from Hulu Langat at the muktamar was uncomfortable with the idea, given the bad blood between the parties in the fight for control of the Malay community.
"Let's just say that once bitten, twice shy. Also, why do we need Umno? We've come so far as a party.
"Our struggle has gained traction among Muslims and now, non-Muslims are attracted to us because, to them, we don't play racial politics," says a Hulu Langat member in his 40s.
Nasharuddin, however, believes the party cannot close the door on Umno.
"There are still issues we can work on together for the nation's benefit. For instance, they had wanted ideas from us on how to boost the economy and we are working on those suggestions. But there are no plans to share power."
Cynics would dismiss this as yet another example of the adage that there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics.
Forgiveness is an Islamic tenet and, as narrated by Dewan Ulama's Harun, the Prophet had once gone to meet Quraish tribesmen who in the past had wanted him dead.
Though both sides have equally compelling stories, one of the most important is what the party tells the non-Muslims that it plans to court before the 2013 elections.
In the first-ever speech of its kind at a muktamar, Pas Supporters' Club deputy president Vincent Lee offered no stories.
instead warned the leadership that the 20,000 non-Muslim members the fledgling club had signed up were worried about the talk of an olive branch to Umno. As the Hulu Langat activists said, non-Muslim support for Pas arises from their opposition to Umno.
So if Pas somehow manages to find it in its heart to start being friends with the old enemy, to the thousands of new non-Muslim and Muslim fans it had gained, it will feel like a stab in the back.
