The debate on PAS policies seems to have extended onto other issues, namely:

  • Whether a non-Muslim has the right to question PAS and its policies, which is assumed to be an implementation of the teachings of Islam

  • Whether an Islamic state is suitable for a multiethnic, multireligious, multicultural country, ie. Malaysia.

To answer these questions from a non-Muslim perspective, I will also be replying to letters from Abu Mubarak and Raja Petra Kamarudin.

Abu Mubarak said malaysiakini letter writers (who are critical of PAS) do not have their facts right about Islam, and therefore should not even begin to discuss about it. He seems to equate criticism towards PAS policies with comments that criticise Islam. This might be due to his belief that PAS base its policies on the teachings of Islam. As I am not a Muslim, I cannot challenge him of that belief.

He further says: "I do agree to a certain degree with MA who suggested that cross-religious discourse requires certain discipline. One rule I would like to suggest is to refrain arguing in public on matters you have no knowledge about. To me, some teachings of other religions are indeed ridiculous. My logic fails badly on most of them. But then, who am I to argue on things I don't know much about. Thus, I refrain myself from making insulting remarks on other religions."

The point he seemed to miss is that PAS is also a political party and not simply an Islamic group out to preach Islam to common folk. As a political party with the ambition to transform Malaysia into an Islamic state, they have decided to run democratic elections with the hope of becoming part of the government should they succeed. They are trying to convince the public, especially the non-Muslims, to vote for them in the coming election and they are doing this by declaring their policies to the public.

How is it then that the rakyat, regardless of race or religion, have no right to question PAS and some of its dubious policies? It is our right, even if we are uneducated in the teachings of Islam, because PAS is trying to form a coalition government in my country.

If PAS does not want any non-Muslims to criticise them, they should just cater the party for Muslims and not try to ask non-Muslims to vote for them in the coming election it's as easy as that. Abu Mubarak, you are not questioning the practices of other religions because they are not the ones trying to form a religious state. Try to put yourself into non-Muslims' shoes.

As for Raja Petra Kamarudin, he seems to believe that the two separate law system by PAS will work and not affect non-Muslims in Malaysia, should PAS comes to power. First of all, not everyone is convinced that PAS will keep that promise and you cannot blame non-Muslims for being sceptical of this policy.

Raja Petra said: "Muslims may not enter casinos, sit and drink in a bar, be alone with a woman in a hotel room, etc. Non-Muslims are free to do what they want. Muslims may not eat, drink or smoke in the daylight hours of Ramadan (unless in the privacy of their homes). They would be arrested if they do. And the list goes on. But non-Muslims are not subjected to all these Islamic rules. And this has always been so. And this is all PAS is proposing; maintaining status quo."

I think most Malaysian got that message pretty clear from PAS. Now let me pose some questions to Raja Petra, which PAS seemed to have left out in their explanations:

  • We know non-Muslims can drink and gamble under a PAS government. But will they ban the import of alcohol or the selling of alcohol at a later date? Since they made so much noise about the licensing of casinos in Pahang, what is stopping them from closing down these casinos and other gambling facilities in Malaysia? You can't drink without alcohol or gamble without a casino, right?

  • What will a PAS government's foreign policies be like? Will Malaysia be sending troops to places like Iraq to fight 'infidels'? Or to Afghanistan to assist the Taliban re-implement their strict Islamic laws?

  • If PAS wins an extra state in the next election, eg. Kedah, will PAS keep its promise not to implement Islamic laws, other than Kelantan and Terengganu?

  • If an Islamic state is not bias towards Muslims, why name it 'Islamic'? Just leave it as a Malaysian state. I don't like having to explain to everyone I meet outside of Malaysia that I am not a Muslim, while still born in an 'Islamic state'.

These might sound like unfair questions, but they are legitimate ones and space should be allowed to the public, since we are the one voting for the next government. Will PAS answer these simple questions? Who is going to be their 'check-and-balance' if the public cannot voice their concerns?

By the way, calling Malaysia an Islamic country is different from calling it an Islamic state - Raja Petra's 90 per cent argument is out of context. We are a secular state with Islam as its national religion as is stated in the constitution. Our constitution doesn't say that we are a 90 per cent Islamic state.

And finally Raja Petra ended with the lines: "Muslims accept that there is no halfway under Islam. Either you are a Muslim, or you are not. You cannot be half-Muslim. This is like being half pregnant. Yet they accept half of Islam and reject the other half knowing full well this would make them non-Muslims; kafir. I suppose there is always one way for Muslims to get exemption from Islamic laws. Declare you are not a Muslim (after all, you were just born into a Muslim family and never really "converted" to Islam) and be granted full exemption from all Islamic laws."

Is Raja Petra so sure that Muslims are allowed to reject Islam and embrace another religions, without punishment? Isn't being a murtad (apostate) illegal in Islam? Is it not that they are allowed three days to repent and if they don't, they will be executed? I apologise if I have got the punishments wrong, but I don't think you will be "granted full exemption from all Islamic laws" by simply declaring you are not a Muslim.