UMNO and Pas are locked in a struggle for the Malay soul. The outcome may irrevocably change Malaysian society
By SANGWON SUH and SANTHA OORJITHAM Kuala Trengganu
For a party often considered a collection of fuddy-duddy old men in skullcaps, its muktamar (general assembly) this year was a surprisingly stylish affair. Held in Kuala Trengganu from June 1 to 4, the assembly for the opposition Parti Islam SeMalaysia (Pas) saw delegates housed in five-star hotels and carrying upmarket Bonia-brand bags, instead of the usual Manila paper envelopes. The opening speech by party president Fadzil Mohamed Noor also marked a departure from convention. In talking about globalization and information tech! nology, he sounded more like the CEO of a multinational company than the leader of a conservative Islamic party whose ultimate goal is to establish a theocratic state governed by shariah laws.
"The marriage of the telecommunication and satellite technology with the all-empowering computers has wired the world into a global village where no nation is able to remain outside its realm and reach," he declared. "Pas shall continue to assess and address the impact of globalization, in so far as it affects the development of a better Malaysia and a better world." Notes a Western diplomat: "He was taking a world view instead of focusing on Pas and the Malays. He was speaking as president of a party which may rule one day."
Pas, leading a government in Malaysia? Such a scenario may seem a touch fanciful in a country that has effectively been led by one party -- the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) -- for over four decades. But the notion is not as laughable as i! t might have been a few years ago. The Nov. 29 general elections proved to be a watershed moment for Pas. While the UMNO-led Barisan Nasional coalition easily clinched a three-quarter majority in Parliament, Pas not only held on to Kelantan, until then the only state in opposition hands, but also added neighboring Trengganu to its belt. It displaced the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party (DAP), a fellow member of the Barisan Alternatif (Alternative Front) alliance, as the leading opposition party. Perhaps most significantly, it succeeded in winning over a large segment of Malay voters, more than half of whom turned to the opposition, partly in protest against the government treatment of ousted deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Malays are the country's predominant ethnic group, accounting for about 55% of the population. Together with other indigenous groups, they are called bumiputras ("sons of the soil") and have been afforded special economic and educational! benefits. They have long been considered the bedrock upon which UMNO stands, but now the party's monopolistic grip on this key constituency is being challenged by Pas. Thus, a heated political battle is raging in Malaysia's Muslim heartland -- in the northern Malay belt states of Trengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis.
| The Islamization Of Malaysia | |
| Pas views UMNO as a waning party that has sold out to materialism and Western values; UMNO accuses Pas of deviationist teachings. The battle lines have been drawn and the fight is on to determine who is the true defender of the faith. A sampling of "Islamic" measures by Pas (in Trengganu) and UNMO since the Nov. 29 general elections: | |
| Pas | UMNO |
| Proposal that all Muslim women at work wear veils Proposed ban on unisex hair salons Ban on karaoke Non-renewal of liquor licenses Closure of betting shops Interest-free loans for computers and cars for state employees Proposal for separate counters for men and women in supermarkets and shopping complexes Plans to introduce the hudud penal code | Creation of the National Islamic Action Council and the Malaysian Islamic Welfare Council to coordinate Islamic activities Compulsory religious classes for government workers from July Introduction of new shariah laws in Johor state, covering such offenses as sodomy, prostitution, premarital sex and lesbianism. Selangor, Kedah and Kuala Lumpur likely to follow suit Only state governments to be allowed to appoint mosque committees |
Given that Islam is inextricably intertwined with the Malay identity (according to the Constitution, a Malay is by definition a Muslim), the clearest manifestation of the contest can be seen in the way UMNO and Pas are both vying to become the standard-bearer for the faith. To be sure, this is nothing new: Over the years, UMNO has tried to underline its! religious credentials by introducing Islam-based banking, insurance, tertiary education and legislation. But it is clear that Pas's recent electoral success has given added urgency and impetus to the struggle for the Malays' Islamic soul.
Leading the fight on the Pas side are three figures: president Fadzil Noor, deputy president and Trengganu chief minister Abdul Hadi Awang, and spiritual adviser and Kelantan chief minister Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat. Fadzil is seen as representing the political side of Pas, Nik Aziz the religious side. Hadi melds the two aspects: He is more ideologically inclined than Fadzil, but politically savvier than Nik Aziz. Hence, he is perhaps best placed to lead the country should Pas ever come to power.
Pas is promoting all three leaders equally, but many observers feel Hadi is the one to watch. "Five to 10 years from now, he will be extremely important," says a Kuala Lumpur-based diplomat. Comparing Hadi to Nik Aziz, a Malaysian politic! al analyst notes: "Kelantan is old Pas, Trengganu is new. Hadi is much more sophisticated, much more secular."
Which is not to say he shrinks from boldly pushing his party's Islamic agenda. A fiery orator who exhorts followers to keep to the straight and narrow, Hadi has already made his mark in Trengganu. Only eight of the 39 liquor licenses have been renewed. The previous government had begun to shut down betting shops; Pas closed the last six.
In March, a Trengganu government official announced that all Muslim women in both the private and public sectors would be required to wear tudung (veils). Hadi says this is "up to individual motivation" and no legislation would be required. But Fauzi, a hotelier at a state-owned resort, reports that his female staff have received orders to wear veils. His resort has also had to stop serving alcohol. "Before the general elections, you could feel life in the town until 11 p.m.," he says. "Now, after 8:30 p.m. it is all qu! iet."
In April, the Kuala Trengganu Municipal Council announced a ban on unisex hair salons. Lam, owner of one such salon, complains that business has already dropped by 50% to 60% "because the women all have to wear veils. VIPs used to have their hair cut once a week. Now they cut it once in three months." And there are fewer requests for treatment, color, perms and makeup, which bring in more money than haircuts and shampoos. "How can we do business?" he says. "I'm already planning another business. Or maybe I'll go to Kuala Lumpur to work."
Other "Islamic" moves by Pas include a ban on karaoke (Pas does not allow "entertainment which ruins character," says Hadi) and a proposal to segregate counters in supermarkets and shopping complexes by sex. Hadi says he will also try to introduce the hudud Islamic penal code in Trengganu. Among the penalties under the hudud is the cutting off of a hand for the first offense of stealing.
Not surprisingly, Pas's Islam! ist approach has many worried, especially non-Muslims. DAP chairman Lim Kit Siang, whose party opposes an Islamic state, says of his alliance partners: "They will have to come to terms with the reality of Malaysia as a plural society with a diversity of religions, races and cultures. An Islamic state is not a practical proposition, even in the long term." If Pas refuses to abandon its goal of a theocracy, he says, then further cooperation "would be very difficult."
Pas acknowledges that it cannot rule without the support of non-Muslims, but insists that an Islamic state need not mean the rights of minorities are ignored. Kelantan state assembly speaker Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah says that Pas guarantees four kinds of rights to non-Muslims: "The right of religion -- they will never be forced to embrace Islam. The freedom to speak their mother tongue. They are entitled to their own customs and dress. And they can do business without any interference." Still, there are m! urmurings of discontent even within Pas itself. Younger members -- mainly businessmen and professionals who joined the party in recent years -- are said to be at odds with the conservative leadership over whether Pas should stick to its traditional approach or moderate its stance to widen its appeal.
While Pas tries to turn Kelantan and Trengganu into viable models of theocratic rule, UMNO has been actively promoting itself as the true defender of Islam. For UMNO, "Islam is the objective of our struggle," says Abdul Hamid Othman, minister in the prime minister's department (for religion). He asserts that Islam has two main components: taking care of life in this world and in the hereafter. The UMNO stance is that it deals with both aspects by providing for the material well-being of Malaysians and promoting Islam, while Pas only focuses on the second part.
Recent UMNO measures to spread Islamic tenets include the requirement that all Muslim civil servants attend ! two religious classes a week and the introduction of new shariah laws in southernmost Johor state. In the latter case, the new rules allow for caning and jail for offenses such as pimping, sodomy, prostitution, incest, premarital sex and lesbianism. Abdul Hamid says Selangor, Kedah and Kuala Lumpur will probably follow suit.
At the same time, UMNO has been moving to tighten its control over religious affairs while checking Pas's influence. In February, Deputy PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced that mosque committees, which many UMNO members had claimed were infiltrated by Pas, would be appointed by state governments rather than chosen locally. The move was to "ensure that mosque activities are run well and do not contribute to unhealthy activities which can cause a rift among Muslims."
UMNO has also created two new organizations: the National Islamic Action Council, which is run by several ministries and coordinates the activity of explaining Islam to the people,! and the Malaysian Islamic Welfare Council, consisting of about 80 NGOs involved in Muslim activities. The Home Ministry has reduced the frequency of Pas newspaper Harakah from twice a week to twice a month, while in Trengganu a new UMNO monthly called Al-Haq ("The Truth") has been launched.
In Perlis, the new Islamic Faith Bill 2000 empowers shariah courts to prosecute for deviationist teachings and detain offenders for up to a year for rehabilitation. What constitutes deviationist teachings? Abdul Hamid explains: "If someone says voting for Pas is an Islamic vote and you'll go to heaven, this is clearly contrary to Islamic teaching." Pas denies making such claims, but it is hardly a secret that its leaders have been equating Pas with the "right" way and UMNO with the "wrong" way. At a dinner last year, Nik Aziz told the audience: "In heaven, you need pahala [reward from God for good works]. So you should vote for the party that brings you pahala." Commenting on the Ge! nting Highlands casino during the November election campaign, Hadi had this warning for voters: "People who choose this kind of government are responsible to Allah in the next world."
Chandra Muzaffar, deputy president of the opposition Parti Nasional Keadilan, thinks that UMNO is barking up the wrong tree in seeking to "out-Islam" Pas. "UMNO is trying to look more Islamic because it has come to the erroneous and simplistic conclusion that Pas has made ground because it is Islamic," he says. "But the underlying problems are UMNO's: the elite's decadence and other undesirable elements. These forces UMNO does not want to look at because they are painful and would need some searching questions to be asked."
Indeed, the Malay-Muslim defection to the opposition may be less about the attractions of Pas's overt religiosity than about the revulsion at UMNO's perceived excesses. When critics accuse UMNO of corruption, cronyism and influence-peddling, they point to the fla! shy lifestyles of the so-called UMNO-putras (a play on the word bumiputra). Forming a "super-class" within the bumiputras, UMNO-putras are those who have used their party connections to accumulate power and wealth. Their conspicuous consumption a sharp contrast to the austere lifestyles of Pas leaders, UMNO-putras have contributed to the sense that the party is dominated by a materialistic elite that is out of touch with the grassroots. "They are an embarrassment and the opposition is using them to attack the party," says an UMNO member in Trengganu.
No less a figure than former deputy PM Musa Hitam has called for change and rejuvenation within UMNO, saying its leaders have strayed from the party precepts of "Clean, Efficient and Trustworthy." An analyst remarks: "If UMNO remains as it is, it is finished. It has to tackle the issues of accountability, corruption, nepotism and big-business orientation."
So who will ultimately win the battle for the hearts and mind! s of Malays? "It all depends on UMNO," says an Asian diplomat. "If there is a change in the leadership before the next general elections and they can sort out their internal problems, UMNO could win back ground." The analyst thinks Pas has a role to play too: "Will Pas be smart enough to be more moderate with a clean, effective government? If so, UMNO is in trouble."
Chandra adds: "For Pas to grow, it must persuade two types of constituencies that it can run a modern state. The first is the growing number of urban Malays. They must be shown that Pas can deliver Islam and development. The second is the non-Malays, the non-Muslims. If Islam is to be interpreted in a very doctrinaire manner, they would hesitate to embrace Pas."
Amid the political sparring between UMNO and Pas, Malaysian society is changing, becoming more "Islamized." And when the struggle for the Malay soul is finally settled, the country may have, for better or worse, transformed beyond recognitio! n. But before that happens, two other battles must first be fought: the internal battles within both UMNO and Pas over the directions they need to take.
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