It has been a week of damage limitation for opposition party PAS. Following the launch of its Islamic state proposal last Wednesday, it has embarked on a round of clarifications to counter the criticism being funneled its way by rival political parties and non-governmental organisations.

With citizens to pacify and electoral results at stake, the party knows it cannot afford to be caught on its back foot in putting across its rationale and concepts of a proposal that now appears to be a political hot potato.

More than that, it also has to appease some of its own members who are none too happy about internal procedures applied in coming up with the document.

What has added to PAS' misfortunes is an immediate step backwards by its strongest opposition ally, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) - a day before the launch, the merged entity had issued a strong statement disassociating itself from the proposal.

Within two days of the launch, PAS information chief Dr Harun Din had already addressed curious crowds in Kedah and Perlis on the issue.

Such briefings will form the platform for explanations to the constituency that matters most to PAS - people at the grassroots - for it is here that the battle will be won or lost.

The sessions were only the first of the state-level briefings planned, and will be buttressed with further explanatory documents on the implementation of Islamic governance.

It already seems obvious that PAS leaders can anticipate having to fill their schedules with dialogues and ceramah (lectures) to ensure that the 'Islamic state' document will not be the source of their downfall come the 11th general election, due within a year.

Timing questioned

As the condemnation of PAS settles into a predictable chorus of Umno- and Barisan Nasional-led jeering, a look behind the scenes reveals uneasiness among some Barisan Alternatif (BA) supporters who question the timing of the document.

"An issue as serious as this requires at least a year to be thrashed out," noted a supporter based in Klang.

"The issue may not be settled by the time the election comes and the BN could go to town with it. Does PAS really know what it is getting into?"

That question was answered by a party worker closely associated with the top leaders. He said that they had little choice but to release the document because PAS had to neutralise the Islamic credentials that Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has brought to his post and BN.

"Umno is pushing Abdullah's Islamic credentials to win the hearts of the Malays...but with our document, we have turned the odds back against them. Umno is now under pressure to come up with its version of an Islamic state," he said.

Dismissing the brickbats to date, he claimed that the document has created "big waves" among Muslims - as shown by massive crowds at the ceramah held in the northern states.

"The audience had been dwindling over the past few months, but the launch of the document has renewed the vigour of Malay supporters. We have reached out to them and now...we only have to convince the non-Muslims," the party worker said.

Another party member took heart from the fact that the issue has been down-played by Malay newspapers, probably because the onus is now clearly on Umno to counter PAS' move or to challenge the proposal with its own concept of an Islamic state.

"Umno challenged us (to prepare the document) and now the ball is in their court (to come up with their own version). They are now trapped," he said.

Pledge in manifesto

Underscoring the rhetoric, however, is reality. A PAS source said the document had to be released before the general election to fulfill the party's undertaking in its 1999 election manifesto - since this was the basis on which it was voted into power in Kelantan and Terengganu.

"One reason why people in the two states voted for us was due to our commitment on establishing Syariah law. This (document) will secure our power there," a party source said.

He said it would be crucial for PAS to prevent Umno from wresting back either state in the coming election, but that no one harboured any illusion that it would be a simple matter because of the recent redelineation exercise.

Political writer Ahmad Lutfi Othman pointed out that no one - including Keadilan - should be surprised over the fact that PAS has formalised its proposal in writing, since the party has never hidden its intention to set up an Islamic state if it comes to power.

"But since the Islamic state had always been in its agenda, one would expect them to have made better preparations for the launch...especially considering that they have had two years to mull things over," he said, referring to the duration of discussions over the document.

He cited internal friction within PAS leadership over the content, arising from the fact that some members felt the information would not sufficiently allay the fears of non-Muslims.

Said Ahmad Lutfi: "PAS should have anticipated the reaction to the document at all levels of the society and should have been ready with strategies to respond.

"An explanation on implementation should have been released alongside the main document. This would have avoided the need for leaders to run all over the place to explain.....like what they are doing now."

He also felt that PAS could have dealt with Keadilan in a better way because disagreement could jeorpadise co-operation within BA.

"Looking at Keadilan's reaction, it's obvious that collaboration within BA is not so smooth. PAS could have handled this better...maybe by holding more discussions with Keadilan before the launch," he said.

Internal tussle

Digging even deeper, it is becoming apparent that all these problems could have been prevented if the PAS Majlis Syura (consultative council) had held sufficient consultations with the central working committee (CWC) over the final document and date of the launch.

"Some CWC member were disappointed that the Syura did not consult them over this. When the matter was brought up, the document was already being printed," said a source.

"If there had been consultation, the party could have been presented the document in a softer manner that would have been more acceptable to the non-Muslim community."

He said there was strong speculation that the Dewan Ulama (Religious Scholars Committee) - comprising the most senior and influential seniors - had insisted on certain decisions being upheld by the syura.

"Dewan Ulama, which was the last level to vet the document, initially wanted to launch the document as it was. However, CWC members insisted that this would cause problems for the party, and that the document should be accompanied with an explanation during the launch," he said.

Several CWC members then "came down hard" on those senior leaders who still refused to budge from their earlier decision and were able to win a concession that supplementary documents would be produced to clarify issues of implementation.

"Fortunately a CWC member was bold enough to take the leaders to task - including those from Dewan Ulama. His views were supported by the rest. It was only then that they admitted the document would be insufficient in addressing non-Muslim concerns," the source said.

It has proved to be a case in point of a further dilemma for PAS, whose more progressive leaders often find their ideas "blocked" by three senior leaders who exert strong influence over policies even if they form the minority.

"The two Tuan Guru [Nik Aziz (below) and Abdul Hadi (left)] are fairly broad-minded leaders who are always open to new ideas and changes.

"But these other leaders... they are senior members who feel that their position are being threatened," the source said.

"They will do anything to hold on to their posts. They are the biggest stumbling block when they find themselves unable to adjust to change."

The showdown on Nov 9 - when they found their ideas challenged - has set precedent.

"These leaders know that they can longer use their seniority in an arbitrary manner. There will be now be better checks and balances as the progressive leaders will have little qualms about taking anyone to task over decisions that may jeorpadise the party's interests," the source added.

"Of course, change will not happen overnight...we have to be patient. We may not have come out victors this time around, but we will succeed eventually because our formula and tradition of transparency is definitely of a better standard than that of Umno."

Future prospects

Although no one is willing to predict if PAS will benefit from having gone public with its Islamic state proposal, Lutfi said this would be a good "political experiment" as well as a test of ulama leadership that has driven the party since 1981.

With its policy now out in the open, he said PAS leaders can no longer confine their ceramah to Quranic verses as they have been doing.

"Things are not so simple now. Their audience does not only comprise kampung folk ...they now have to response to questions which relate to the Federal Constitution, the roles of non-Muslims and so on," he observed.

"I believe the document will help make the leaders, especially the ulama, more mature. This will be good for PAS."

He also said certain leaders cannot now ignore the sentiments of non-Muslims in relation to the implementation of the Islamic state.

"These leaders have claimed that non-Muslims are never satisfied with repeated assurances and explanations, and feel that non-Muslims support Umno and BN. They say that, in 1999, it was Malay votes that propelled PAS victories....so why bother dealing with non-Muslims," Lutfi said, expressing worry over such attitudes.

"They rely on the theory that they need to only capture Umno's 73 seats to establish a new government. But they must realise that not all these constituencies have a Malay majority. In half of these seats, the non-Malays form the majority. So like it or not... to win, PAS must deal with non-Malays."

One positive impact of the Islamic state document being available finally, is that interested parties now have an opportunity to study the principles laid out.

A source said some Chinese groups have contacted PAS leaders for discussion - with better understanding of core issues, they feel able to debate openly over these before deciding whether or not to accept the concept.

Still, the damage limitation measures will continue. As a precaution, only spiritual adviser Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, president Abdul Hadi Awang and Harun will issue statements on the Islamic state, said Harun's special assistant Mohamad Rashidi Hasan.

"It is an important issue so the party felt that the three would be the best people to explain the document. Of course...other leaders play an equally major role in clarifying the document to the public through dialogues and lectures," he said.

The party is keenly aware that it is treading a fine line, but sympathisers like Ahmad Lutfi feel the votes may still swing the way of PAS if it can come up with convincing explanations.

"The Islamic state is a very sensitive issue. It evokes many emotions. It can easily set aside positive achievements to date," he said.

While the document may satisfy Malay voters in the east coast, PAS cannot cast aside the protracted efforts by division leaders and supporters to win over the multiracial communities of states like Kedah and Selangor.

Therein lies the party's main challenge - to retain its power without destroying its chances to expand its influence.