PAS will not resort to violence: Hadi
Nothing new, perhaps. After all, everybody knows this and the party leaders have been neither timid nor apologetic about their ambition to set up a theocratic state governed by full syariah laws.
The general response to the party's Islamic state plan, however, has often been dramatic, more so in the newspapers and other media.
The ruling front's dominant party, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) has unsurprisingly dismissed its political arch-enemy's Islamic state concept as rhetoric to gain votes.
Attention is seldom given to the question: How will PAS set up its Islamic state with its limited parliamentary seats? Umno warns that the Muslim opposition party may resort to violent means to achieve its purpose, which presumably answers the question.
But PAS deputy president Abdul Hadi Awang, in a recent interview with malaysiakini at his office in Kuala Terengganu , insists that the party respects peaceful, democratic procedures as democracy does not contradict with the religion's teachings.
To support his argument, Hadi cites two examples: the 1978 state elections when PAS lost to Umno its stronghold state of Kelantan, and the long years the party continuously contested in the elections before it recaptured the Terengganu state in 1999. (It last ruled the state from 1959 to 1961.)
"PAS did not resort to violent means to regain its power in the two states," stressed Hadi.
To "uphold and realise the Islamic aspirations", the 55-year-old ustaz (religious teacher) explained at great length that, democracy makes an acceptable approach in the long run.
"Read the history of Islam... the prophets and messengers believe in peaceful means in their struggle.
"PAS will have to be patient to overcome whatever obstacles and difficulties. It will remain dedicated to peaceful means as long as there is room for freedom of expression and criticism," he said.
Instead, it was Umno, he lamented, which could not accept defeat in an open contest for power as following its loss two years ago, it has denied Terengganu of the state's five percent cut of the estimated RM11.4 billion in annual oil and gas production.
"They deliberately delay the federal funds to us, suppress the media to highlight their opinion and did not give us a fair opportunity to answer to their accusations."
PAS-Umno rivalry
Still, sceptics wonder how compatible democracy is with an Islamic state that emphasises the rule of public sphere through syariah laws, as manifested in the banning of gaming and entertainment outlets in Terengganu since PAS took over.
Responding to that scepticism, Hadi who is the state Menteri Besar said, "There are individual rights which ought to be respected. People are free to practise their religion, culture, and lifestyle as long as these do not affect the other communities."
He went on to say that from the feedback the state government gathered, non-Muslim communities which constitute five percent of the Terengganu population accepted the decision after due explanation.
The state chief however noted that the PAS government does not rule arbitrarily but take into consideration public needs and complaints through a hisbah (ombusman) mechanism, monitored by former Lord President Mohd Salleh Abas who is now a PAS state assembly representative for Jertih.
In regards to a plan to introduce kharaj, a tax paid by non-Muslims to match zakat, an obligatory tithe by Muslims, the state government abandoned it after failing to obtain approval from the community though Hadi maintained that kharaj was just "land tax called by a different name."
To PAS, being democratic does not mean abandoning the idealism of the 52-year-old party.
Its peak electoral performance thus far, as witnessed in the last general elections, has made it more at ease in spelling out the concept of an Islamic state.
The rivalry between Umno and PAS is of course accentuated by, apart from the struggle for administrative and moral authority, the irreconcilable differences over the interpretation of syariah laws.
Umno has long 'preached' that syariah cannot be implemented in total due to multiracial citizenry of different faiths, and that the particulars of Islamic laws could be flexibly determined in different times and places.
PAS, however, believes despite the ever-changing social context, it is still the duty of Muslims to enforce Islamic laws, including the hudud which deals with punishment for Muslims pertaining to theft, robbery, adultery, accusing others of adultery, consumption of alcohol, and apostasy.
Hadi conceded to the two parties' differences in this regards, but added that certain teachings, such as the concept of haram and halal, should remain unchanged for all time.
"If we were to say all teachings are subject to changes, the religion will go adrift," he said.
He maintained that an Islamic state should stipulate in its constitution that Quran and Hadith (words of the Prophet) are the highest laws of the country.
It is for this reason that although Umno president Dr Mahathir Mohamad had declared Malaysia as an Islamic state last September, PAS felt that the Umno government had not done enough to defend the faith.
"The ruling coalition's leadership accepts secular ideology which is irrelevant to Islam," he said.
Working on support
Not all Malay-Muslims will agree to PAS' view of an Islamic state, though. With the economic boom in 1990s and the expansion of the Malay-Muslim middle class, many are accustomed to a so-called more 'liberal' way of life.
Hadi is aware of this. "But PAS will not coerce them in this matter though it is only right for them to follow no other way of life than that of Islam," he said.
Perhaps this is why PAS in now working hard to win over urban Malay Malaysians by engaging more actively in democracy and global worldviews. To a certain extent, this has worked.
At the party's muktamar (annual general assembly) in Terengganu two years ago, party president Fadzil Mohd Noor spoke about globlalisation and information technology, delegates were housed in five-star hotels, and many came with Mercedes-Benz and branded suitcases a far cry from the traditional identification with old men in skullcaps travelling by buses.
When asked, Hadi said PAS is unlikely to forge an alliance with Umno in the future although they had once been partners for five years in the ruling Barisan Nasional from 1972 to 1977.
PAS under the then president Mohammad Asri had joined the BN. This alliance failed when Asri's candidate for Kelantan state chief was sidelined and another PAS leader Mohammad Nasir, backed by Umno, was appointed instead. Asri tried to oust Nasir and this sparked off mass rallies in support of Nasir, leading to the federal government's 'emergency rule' in the state on the grounds of public security.
"Once bitten, twice shy... And the way things are going, Umno will not become the core party in years to come," said Hadi.
With the Chinese-based Democratic Action Party (DAP) pulling out of the opposition front, Barisan Alternatif, last year, observers note that it will be more difficult for BA to attract Chinese Malaysian votes in the forthcoming general elections.
Hadi, however, remains optimistic about this. "In the Indera Kayangan by-election recently, there was an increase in Chinese votes for (BA component) Parti Keadilan Nasional."
Allaying the non-Muslims' suspicions about PAS are however easier said than done. The Sept 11 attacks have generated a new wave of support for Prime Minister Mahathir, and given the leeway for Umno and other ruling component parties to portray PAS as the 'Malaysian Taliban'.
Yet Hadi said the party is not too worried about the negative perception that has been plaguing PAS, particularly after the demonstrations outside the United States embassy and the call for jihad which were heavily publicised in the media.
"The international community has slowly realised that (President George W) Bush's agenda and is now less keen in supporting the US. This will work towards a more positive perception about the party, we hope," he said.
From radical to moderate
In contrast to the radical age in mid-1980s (which was the fallout of the Iranian revolution) when PAS called itself 'the party of Allah' and denounced Umno leaders in crude terms such as 'infidels', PAS over the last decade had indeed adopted an increasingly moderate stand on issues.
Universiti Sains Malaysia's deputy vice-chancellor Prof Syed Ahmad Hussein noted that after the sacking of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, PAS did not launch a simplistic fighi (legal-jurisprudential) approach, issue fatwa (religious decree), or invoke 'Islamic state' as the solution to problems.
Instead, "[d]escribing the political scene along the lines of a 'democracy under siege', PAS went on a pro-active campaign to mobilise support for democratic reforms.
"[The surge in PAS popularity] should not be seen as simply a reaction to the economic crisis or a registration of protest against injustice towards Anwar. It is indicative also of approval of a PAS championing democratic reforms," said Syed Ahmad in an article titled 'Muslim politics and the discourse on democracy' in the book Democracy in Malaysia: discourses and practices published last month.
Viewed in this light, those who consider PAS as just an extreme and fanatical party may want to look deeper into what Hadi said: "PAS will remain dedicated to peaceful means as long as there is room for freedom of expression and criticism."
This is the first of a five-part series on 'PAS in Terengganu: three years after'. Excerpts of malaysiakini interview with Hadi can be found in the Opinions/Features section.
