Islam and Malays, PAS and UMNO
PAS’s cause is to advance Islam. UMNO’s platform is to advance Malay nationalism. During a merger, how will the priorities be managed?
By batsman
Recently some of the best academic and religious brains in Malaysia have come together to provide a theoretical or ideological basis for the merger of Islam with nationalism in the hope that PAS will merge with UMNO. I hope my ordinary person’s approach which is without any formal scholarship or schooling on the issue can be given a hearing. Please forgive any errors I may make.
PAS’s cause is to advance Islam. UMNO’s platform is to advance Malay nationalism. During a merger, how will the priorities be managed? On the surface it would seem the 2 are unrelated and may even come into conflict in extreme circumstances. The connection that makes the proposal for merger possible is that Malays are Muslims. Even if one tries to approach it the other way round, the connection breaks down for not all Muslims are Malays.
Therefore, given the uncertainty of the connection, there is this very important question that has to be asked – which has priority? – does the unity of Malays have priority over the unity of Muslims or the other way round? Which is more important? What happens in the hypothetical event that the interest of Malays clashes with the cause of Islam?
Islam is universal. Malays, I think, have not attained the same level of universality yet. If they did, they will most probably be at peace with all other races and religions and the question of merger is not even important. So it is still not possible to equate Malays on the same level as Islam yet.
Many Malays in Malaysia may not even consider the possibility of union or merger with the Malays of Indonesia yet. If such a hypothetical union were to take place, will the Malaysian Malays have more influence or the Indonesian Malays have more influence in deciding the policies of the union?
Until recently, Indonesians have been combing the streets of Jakarta looking for Malaysians over nuisance issues such as which songs and cultural practices belong to whom. Since the songs and cultural practices in question are Malay, it would seem that Indonesian Malays and Malaysian Malays have a long way to go still in achieving universal brotherhood and peace in spite of common roots (let alone a merger or union).
From this, it would appear that the merger of Islam and nationalism pertains only to Malaysia and is not universal. Thus it would seem unavoidable to conclude that such a merger if it occurs in Malaysia places nationalism ahead of Islam.
I do not wish to go too much into the contentious debate that it is possible for Malays to take certain actions that are in conflict with the teachings of Islam. If the Malays are selfish, domineering, abusive and bullying, they will probably be going against the teachings of Islam. If the Malays are oppressed and victimized (such as with Palestinians), they can justifiably seek justice and protection under Islam and Islam will automatically lend itself to a nationalist cause. This question is of utmost importance in deciding whether a merger of Islam and nationalism even if just temporarily is possible in Malaysia. What is the situation today in Malaysia? What do you guys think?
As for me, I like to look at the behaviour of both the leaders and the followers of each party to get a better idea. If the leaders of UMNO are humble and ever willing to listen honestly and act fairly to the complaints and grievances of all people regardless of race or religion, then I think such a merger may be possible and should be encouraged. On the other hand, if the leaders of PAS are greedy for sharing power and glory with UMNO, such a merger is ALSO possible, but should unfortunately be discouraged.
Looking at the followers, if the followers of UMNO are selfish, grasping, abusive and bullying, a merger with the faithful of Islam may not be advisable. If the followers of PAS are humble, decent, fair and sensible people, a merger with the nationalists of UMNO may also not be desirable.
Lastly, what is the place of Ketuanan Melayu as a basis for action in all of this? Will PAS be required to embrace Ketuanan Melayu as its own in the event of a merger or will UMNO have to give it up?
