PAS is confident of winning more power in upcoming elections against a moderate Muslim government which for the first time in 22 years will not be led by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

New president Abdul Hadi Awang said the party also held firmly to its aim of turning Malaysia into an Islamic state at the start of a three-day annual assembly focusing on general election, which are widely tipped to be held in early 2004 although not due until the end of the year.

But PAS sought to allay fears of Islamic militancy, saying it was not an extremist party and rejected all forms of aggression and violence.

Abdul Hadi said Mahathir's Umno - the pillar of the ruling National Front coalition - remained divided after losing ground to PAS in 1999 polls.

Mahathir, 77, has pledged to retire next month and hand over the reins to his deputy, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Tough on Pak Lah

Abdul Hadi said it would be tough for Abdullah to "undo and dismantle the legacy and culture of Mahathirism namely of crony capitalism and institutionalised corruption," which had led to growing unhappiness.

PAS captured a second state and tripled its parliament seats in 1999 polls, benefiting from the 1998 sacking and arrest of Mahathir's ex-deputy Anwar Ibrahim which had divided ethnic Muslims, who make-up some 60 percent of Malaysia's 23 million people.

Anger over the Anwar issue has died down and the spectre of Islamic militancy after the Sept 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States keeps "haunting" PAS, Abdul Hadi admitted.

The son of PAS spiritual leader, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, and several PAS members were among some 90 suspected Islamic militants detained without trial by the government in the past two years.

But Abdul Hadi said PAS influence continued to spread, with its membership hitting nearly a million, and recent police moves to block PAS rallies showed Umno was afraid of its growth.

"We are confident of defending the states which we have won and increasing the number of seats in other states," he told reporters.

He did not elaborate, but it is no secret that PAS harbours an ambition to wrest control in the northern Malay belt including Mahathir's home state of Kedah.

Promise to non-Muslims

But PAS, which wants to introduce strict Islamic syariah criminal law prescribing amputation for theft and death by stoning for adultery, is unlikely to garner much support from the large ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.

Chinese-based party DAP withdrew from an opposition coalition led by PAS shortly after the Sept 11 tragedy amid a row over PAS' goal of establishing a theocratic Islamic state.

But Abdul Hadi, a fiery cleric who took over the helm in June last year after the sudden death of the party's former leader Fadzil Noor, promised non-Muslims would not be subjected to Islamic laws.

"To establish Islam in its entirety is raison d'etre to PAS," he said. "We are consistent with our struggle but we are not extremists."

He said PAS rejected all forms of violence, extremism and militant fundamentalism as well as the US-led attacks on Iraq but supported "genuine freedom fighters" such as those in Palestine and Chechnya.

PAS delegates will hold elections for top posts at their assembly over the weekend, with Abdul Hadi running unopposed for a three-year term. - AFP