New Malay progressive party can give Umno and PAS a run for their money, says Zaid

(The Rakyat Post) – The rumoured new Islamic progressive Malay party, if managed well, will give Umno and PAS a run for their money, says former Umno Minister.

Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, in his blog today, said that the party rumoured to comprise PAS progressive leaders such as Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli, Khalid Abdul Samad, Datuk Mahfuz Omar and Mohamad Sabu among many others, will be a success if a certain formula as suggested by him is adhered to.

The biggest factor that will separate this party from the other Malay-based parties such as PAS is it can be a face of intellectual Islam instead of the present “holier-than-thou” version, wrote Zaid.

“The party must first remain for Muslims only, at least for now, because that’s the only chance they have to challenge PAS.

“Already they have no turban and skull cap in their daily attire, this will handicap them, so to bring non-Muslims in will be added problems for the new party.

“It will be another PKR and disastrous for Mat Sabu and friends.”

He added that another key for success for the new party is if it can show the other side of Islam, the one that is kind and forgiving unlike what PAS ulamas have represented which is centred around punishments.

“PAS had for many years, insisted on the implementation of hudud and other syariah laws that were said to have contributed to the collapse of  the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat.”

The new party was said to be led by those who in spite of their Islamic beliefs, also held on to the Common Policy Framework agreed upon by all component parties within Pakatan Rakyat.

“If the party can offer Malays a political Islam that abhors corruption and abuse of power, if it can struggle for justice of all Malaysians, if it can somehow bring Islamic ideas home to roost but nonetheless always be able to accommodate modern-day realities, then that’s the party of the future .

“This is not easy to achieve though, because we have no intellectual traditions, and Muslims here only know  islam as the do’s and don’ts.

“The new group must, however, try to bring into public affairs a different  idea of Islam,” suggested Zaid.

He said that this will be a test and opportunity for the Malays to decide on the kind of future they want for the country.

The new party was also said to be keen to collaborate with the DAP and this is a fact that Zaid said the party should be mindful of, to avoid being branded as merely an extension of the secular based party.

“For the new party to be successful it must be independent financially and intellectually as well as ideologically strong.

“It needs an economic plan that supports the poor, even their other partners are  against them and it must fight for the less fortunate because that’s what Islam is about.”