PAS walking a narrow path
The party is caught between a rock and a hard place and at a crucial time with the muktamar only days away.
PAS’ original source of strength had been its diehard promotion of Islamic causes, which had won for it the conservative vote in the rural Malay hinterland, but since the victories of 2008 when it added Kedah to its stable, it has changed course, taking a more liberal stance.
Baradan Kuppusamy, The Star
PKR vice-president and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar’s controversial comment on “religious freedom” not only puts the Pakatan Rakyat coalition in a bind but it is causing partner PAS to lose sleep and fighting to keep its Muslim vote bank from serious erosion.
Her “religious freedom for all” comment, made at an unguarded moment at a recent forum in Subang Jaya, although supported by non-Malays, is nevertheless a serious faux pas when it comes to conservative Muslims, who make up the bulk of PAS supporters.
However, her comments are also in keeping with her father’s (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) support for religious pluralism (the acceptance of all religious paths as equally valid) which had sparked furious opposition from Islamic scholars who are opposed to pluralism as un-Islamic and deviant.
Her comments have put PAS at a distinct disadvantage and come at a crucial time when the party is preparing for its 58th Muktamar (general assembly) in Kelantan over the weekend.
This muktamar is the last before the general election and PAS wants to put its best foot forward.
It wants to show its grassroots that it always remains committed to Islam and members want to see the party regain its foothold as the sole promoter and defender of the religion, as PAS had always claimed it is.
Nurul’s comments have opened the party to serious attacks from Umno and Islamic scholars who all have lambasted her for implying that, with religious freedom for all, Muslims too can switch faith as they please.
One of her most stringent critics is former PAS deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa, who is still a PAS member, and who said that her comments is tantamount to giving Malays the freedom to change their religion.
“When Allah has decided in matter of faith, Syariah and morals, we (Muslims) do not have a right to choose.
“Our right is only to listen and obey as is clearly stated in the Quran,” he told Utusan Malaysia in an interview.
As the storm escalated, Nurul quickly met Jais (Selangor Islamic Affairs Department) officials to explain and complain that her comments had been “twisted” and that she never supported apostasy.
The Islamic vote is PAS’ mainstay but that vote has been sliding, not only because of PAS’ continued support for the secular DAP, but also because of its steady concessions on many Islamic matters largely due to pressure from DAP too.
The evidence is the party’s defeat in by-elections since 2009 during which the party found it hard to even enter Malay villages which all had raised Umno flags and refused PAS entry.
In Felda schemes too, the party faced the same kind of reception.
PAS’ original source of strength had been its diehard promotion of Islamic causes, which had won for it the conservative vote in the rural Malay hinterland, but since the victories of 2008 when it added Kedah to its stable, it has changed course, taking a more liberal stance.
This is because it hopes to rule the country one day and realises that it needs the support of non-Muslims to do so.
But it has been steadily losing the Malay fence-sitters with this “playing both ends of the stick” strategy.
PAS has also avoided thorny issues that could cause dissension with its Pakatan Rakyat partners, especially DAP, fearing loss of Chinese votes and preferring to take up Islamic issues once it wins power and enters Putrajaya.
The Anwarinas, the liberal elements in the party, have the powerful support of PAS spiritual adviser Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, who has refused to comment on Nurul’s statement at the forum.
Nik Aziz, although pushing 82, is very influential and a pillar of strength for the party and no one is yet ready to question him over his strong support for the liberals, many of whom won in party elections last year.
Although Nurul has denied supporting apostasy, she and PAS have been under constant attacks from Islamic scholars and Umno leaders for doing just that.
And the audience in this “raging battle” is the Malay hinterland whose support is crucial for victory of both contending sides in the upcoming general election.
As PAS comes under escalating attacks, it is under tremendous pressure to repudiate Nurul’s “religious freedom” comments or risk further haemorrhaging conservative Muslim votes.
PAS is caught between a rock and a hard place and at a crucial time with the muktamar only days away.
On one side is the powerful presence of Anwar and his supporters in PAS and the non-Muslim votes and on the other is PAS’ own grassroots and the Malay heartland, who want Nurul censured and her comments repudiated.
PAS is walking a narrow path.
It wants to support religious pluralism and win non-Muslim voters over but fears a Malay backlash, not only from its traditional ulamas but also from its conservative vote bank.
It does not want to hurt its chances further in the conservative heartland which is already unsettled by PAS’ cooperation with the secular DAP and its alliance with PKR, whose de facto leader is openly supportive of religious pluralism and all that it entails for Muslims.
Nurul has complicated matters further for PAS and at a crucial time with her “freedom for all” comment, which according to her critics, imply that Muslims can switch religion when Syariah forbids it.
