In the last general elections, the perception was created as if many Muslim and non-Muslim voters alike had to choose between two versions of Islam. It had become the defining issue in the entire election for millions of voters.

In the end, Umno had won handsomely, while PAS had lost Terangganu, held on to Kelantan by a razor-thin margin and their shares of parliamentary seats had been reduced considerably.

Mesmerised by the BN landslide victory nationwide, some commentators concluded that the nation's voters had 'rejected' the brand of political Islam as it was preached and practised by PAS.

Many non-Muslim voters must have also breathed a huge sign of relief, in the belief that Islamic "extremists" have been beaten back once again, and that Malaysia will now embark upon a more moderate version of Islam advocated by Umno.

Of course, political judgements tend to be moulded and fashioned by perceptions, rather than true understanding of the underlying realities in our national life.

Eventually, those who control the media will monopolise the manufacture of truths, by the exclusive propagation of selected concepts and terms that will, through endless repetition, mould and fashion public opinions and electoral choices. Words like "rejected" and "extremism" are two of the most abused concepts in our national narrative.

Those who say that the Malaysian electorate has "rejected" PAS ignore the narrow margins won by Umno over PAS in many constituencies. They seem to be oblivious to the sizeable number of votes and seats procured by PAS.

These political pundits also tend to be blind to the massive gerrymandering and the possibility of election frauds that have cast into doubt the legitimacy of the election results. In any case, in a political system where the ruling parties can control 90% of the parliamentary seats with the support of 65% of popular votes, hardly any issue can be said to have been settled conclusively.

Besides, if you look at the convoluted course through which PAS was born and has evolved through the last few decades, you will have observed that this strange political creature has the ability to survive all kinds of crisis, only to reinvent themselves some years later.

I remember such a crisis in 1982, when PAS was down to one lone Member of Parliament. The venerable Nik Aziz Nik Mat was my next-seat neighbour in that over-chilled tall chamber for nearly five years.

I might not have understood his politics fully then, but I liked him as a person. He was gentle, self-effusive, the very picture of simplicity in dress and manners, and extremely polite.

Nevertheless, when this soft-spoken slight figure stood up to make his occasional speech in that august house, in that tremulous raspy voice of his, you could see how the Umno people sat up in full serious attention. In the Dewan Rakyat, it has always not been easy to get the full attention of Umno MPs, except perhaps when the PM was making one of his rare appearances.

PAS surprises

Who would have thought then, that PAS was to have grown into the sort of sprawling grassroots political movement in the late 1990s, when their evening ceramahs were usually attended by tens of thousands of people, even if these gatherings were held in the wet padi fields under a heavy downpour?

During these long and fiery gatherings, PAS volunteers would pass the hat around, soliciting donations of a ringgit or two from each person present. The collection would usually amount to tens of thousands at the end of the evening!

Obviously, after the demise of the Socialist Front in 1972, no other opposition party can match PAS in terms of party organisation and party finances. In the realities of electoral politics, organisation and financing determine the success and durability of any political struggle.

In Malaysia, given the extensive persecution of opposition supporters and the pervasive aura of fear among the rakyat, it is very difficult for opposition parties to organise their members on a grassroots basis.

Looking in from outside, and well knowing all the obstacles in party organisation on the opposition front, I never cease to be amazed at how PAS has succeeded on building such an awesome party structure. A political party with such a massive organised membership across many states is not likely to be wiped out by one single electoral defeat.

I should also know more than most Malaysians that building and maintaining such a massive political structure in non-election years, away from the attention of ordinary voters and the glamour of media limelight, requires the kind of hard work and money unimaginable to ordinary voters whose only involvement is to cast their vote once every five years.

It would require a huge phalanx of party leaders and mid-ranking officials dedicated to the endless and thankless tasks of recruiting new blood, keeping party records, holding meetings, motivating members and implementing party programmes. It would involve thousands of dedicated party members working for pittance or even voluntarily, week in and week out without letting up for many years, to make it into formidable election machinery.

(Think of the mountains of personal and factional conflicts that would plague such a massive political organisation! How do PAS people resolve or contain their internal discord without public blood-letting for so many years?)

Committed identification

In this, I think PAS leadership at the national, state and village levels has shown the kind of group cohesiveness that can only come about from very committed identification with their collective ideology.

It is not surprising that PAS ideology should be such an overpowering driving force in the life and work of their leaders and members. Other political parties can only preach the kind of ideology which will lure voters to some vision of an ideal life that promise earthly goods. PAS ideology is one grounded in the putative absolute truths revealed in the holy books of their religion, and promises nothing less than the eternal after-life.

It is all too easy for non-Muslims to dismiss PAS proposal for their Islamic state. It is much harder to understand the forces behind the emergence and the resurgence of PAS as a powerful political movement, given the twisted language in public discourse in Malaysia.

I have read comments in malaysiakini, claiming that PAS version of fundamentalism can only work in the rural areas, as if they are capable of hoodwinking simple farming folk. However, that cannot explain the massive injection of new blood after 1999, a whole host of professionals, academics and highly educated people, who have given this party the kind of depth and breadth that other opposition parties can dream of.

Perhaps we should cast the PAS phenomenon onto the larger canvas of our national perspective. Perhaps we should try to understand, before we can even begin to criticize. A sympathetic, though critical, reading of the PAS phenomenon is in order.

What we have witnessed is probably the result of an agrarian traditional society being transformed over half a century of nation-building. Nation-building, the project of building a modern nation-state, is essentially an experiment in modernisation and all that this process entails.

The political, social and economic transformation of the Malay, and therefore Muslim community, has been both dramatic and traumatic. Not all people affected benefit from these changes. Not all changes have brought benefit to the community.

The contradictions of this grand project of self-transformation of our Malay/Muslim brethren must have created a great deal of tension, confusion, reflection and new understanding. After all, modernity and the whole process of modernisation can be very subversive to the network of traditional way of life, as well as the people's sense of identity.

Natural response

The call by PAS for Muslims to return to an Islamic way of life seems to be a natural response to the contradictions of modern life. After all, Islam is an all-encompassing all consuming monotheistic religion deeply embedded in the tradition and history of the Malay people. In the eyes of the believers, it could, or should provide an anchor in this stormy sea of change.

PAS may have defined the political goals of this Islamic resurgence, as an embodiment of this powerful religious sentiment. What they articulate is merely an alternative view of the Malay world on what the good life ought to mean to their supporters.

Obviously, many Muslims in the country do not agree with them. Most non-Muslims abhor their vision. At the same time, they must also have struck a chord to gain the kind of mass support as they do.

In short, the PAS phenomenon is much more complex than just a bunch of Islamic "extremists" going around inflaming innocent but ignorant village farmers. It has its roots in the intractable and diversifying evolution of our political culture.

At least, unlike the revolutionaries in Iran, PAS seeks political power through the democratic process, rather than resorting to armed struggle. They are not in the same league as Al-Qaeda.

Democracy is not merely about procuring votes and winning electoral contests merely. It is about building a national consensus through continuing dialogue. Those who care about the future of all Malaysians may consider engaging PAS in an on-going dialogue, rather than dismissing them as "extremists" in an off-hand fashion.

It takes two hands to clap. PAS can easily be stuck in the quagmire of pursuing a political ideology grounded merely in their religious faith. Any ideology is always a monologue, an expression of the will to dominate.

What may benefit PAS in the long run, is not merely more explanation of their ideology. That we all know in broad outlines. What they need to do is perhaps more listening to people of other faiths. They too must also be open to dialogues, or else, they would just be another divisive political force among many.