PAS-DAP: A marriage on the rocks?
Now, if this is not a reflection, no matter how blurry, of the establishment of an Islamic state, what is it then?
The assurance given by BA's secretariat chairperson Dr Chandra Muzaffar, who is also Keadilan's deputy president, was not very assuring: "The BA manifesto makes no mention of an Islamic state. Neither does it promise to establish a secular state.
"The BA manifesto makes it abundantly clear that the goal of the BA is to establish a just society, governed on the basis of democratic principles and guided by the fundamental principles of the Malaysian Constitution."
This manifesto, sealed just before the 1999 general elections, had the blessings of the four coalition partners in the opposition: PAS, Keadilan, DAP and PRM.
Found in a booklet form and on the Internet, this broad but vague piece of constitution has been read and seen by hundreds and thousands of people nonetheless.
This may explain why PAS information chief Azizan Abdul Razak very confidently said all component partners in the BA were aware of PAS' intention of setting up an Islamic state should it come to power.
(Power here means a two-thirds majority in the law-making body, whether it is the Dewan Negeri (state assembly) or the Parliament lower house, Dewan Rakyat).
Life goes on
Azizan said the party had never abandoned this objective.
"How can any party deny our belief and yet want to be in the same boat?" he was quoted as asking, adding that PAS had never told DAP it was 'abandoning' its quest for an Islamic state.
Indeed, PAS has already laid down plans in this direction for Kelantan and Terengganu, the two states currently under its rule. Recently, Kelantan amended the state constitution to reduce the powers of the Sultan.
While there is a big brouhaha by the ruling party and the DAP against the party's Islamic policies, life goes on as usual for the simple folks living there in those states.
Has any one of the 15,000 so-called MCA members in Kelantan ever squirmed or whimpered at their sad state of affairs in a blooming Islamic state?
DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang has challenged PAS to be realistic and to accept the current political reality.
"PAS should be realistic that in Malaysia where some 40 percent of the population are non-Muslim, PAS cannot on its own get a two-thirds majority in Parliament to amend the Constitution," Lim said.
"Also, not all Malay members of Parliament would support PAS on this matter while it is quite safe to assume that all non-Muslim MPs would oppose it, therefore an Islamic state is not a practical or feasible proposition or option for Malaysia," he added.
Lim said in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday that the BA is no longer tenable if PAS consciously insists on its notion of setting up an Islamic state, thereby violating whatever cooperation and understanding established in the common manifesto.
The crossfire between the two allies has further revealed that it is not only DAP leaders who are split over this issue, but PAS leaders as well.
Lim revealed that PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat had given his assurance in a dialogue with the Conference of Churches in Malaysia in May last year that his party believes not so much in an 'Islamic state' but an 'Islamic community'.
This meant, Lim said, that PAS was more accepting of the limited role of Islam in a democratic and plural country.
He added that PAS leaders have also been pointing out that the 'Islamic state' is not referred to in the PAS constitution.
Forgiving partner
However, PAS deputy president and Terengganu Menteri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang said in Kuala Terengganu last Wednesday that the important thing was for PAS to be given the opportunity to set up the Islamic state and he was confident that DAP leaders would accept it once they get a clear picture of the concept.
Hadi has told DAP that it can leave BA as it is the latter's right to do so. PAS will not compromise on its stand.
PAS president and Opposition leader Fadzil Noor, however, is persuading DAP to stay on. Like a loving and forgiving partner, Fadzil tells Lim, "Please don't go, don't take the easy way out", and adds the ever popular "do not fall into the Barisan Nasional (BN) trap."
Has DAP finally realised its folly of sleeping with the enemy that it is now endeavouring to distance itself from PAS?
DAP claimed that its association with PAS had cost it many Chinese votes during the last general elections.
DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock said, "We oppose the Islamic state not because we're anti-Islam, not because we want to gain votes, but because it is DAP's fundamental principle to maintain a secular state and not an Islamic one".
Why did DAP choose to ignore the clause in the BA manifesto but air its views now while talks and meetings behind closed doors are being carried out by BA partners to resolve this nagging friction with regards to the Islamic state?
Lim said, "PAS seems to have taken a conscious policy to pursue its Islamic state objective at the expense of the BA manifesto, so we are now asking PAS leaders to publicly explain the political, legal and constitutional implications of its Islamic state concept."
The responses from DAP national deputy chairperson Karpal Singh, vice-chairman Lim Guan Eng and national publicity bureau secretary Gobind Deo Singh were not as accommodating.
They had threatened to pull out from the BA if PAS is adamant on maintaining its stand although it is the party's Central Executive Committee that must vote on this issue.
Other DAP leaders like Lim, Kerk and Ronnie Liu preferred the more diplomatic approach, saying, "We are trying to resolve the issue".
"Although we have not reached the stage of wanting to pull out of the coalition, we are 100 percent behind Karpal in opposing the notion of an Islamic state," he added.
Deafening silence
The other two DAP allies, Keadilan and PRM, are silent on the issue and seem united in the BA even though their other partners are crossing swords with each other. Their silence may be due to both parties being too busy ironing out their 'marriage' plans, which has been agreed to by Keadilan members at their annual general meeting two weeks ago. PRM members will decide on July 15.
The silence of the two Malay-based but multi-racial party has prompted people to ask - would the new party, to be called Parti Keadilan Rakyat Malaysia, support PAS' stand? Or would it back solidly BA's code of conduct by preserving cooperation between the partners first beyond all else?
Since Keadilan and PRM, like DAP, comprise a multi-racial, multi-religious group of supporters, the former scenario is rather unlikely.
The two parties may prefer to sit and talk, negotiate and consult with their allies, rather than make 'frivolous' statements in the newspapers to the detriment of the coalition as a whole.
The Islamic state issue is an old and timeless issue, so much so PAS in its 47th muktamar (general meeting) in June decided to set it aside and concentrate on national issues such as the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the impact on press freedom with the buying of two Chinese dailies, the Nanyang Siang Pau and the China Press by MCA.
Some say there seemed to be a concerted effort by the media to drill PAS leaders on the Islamic state issue, knowing very well their responses would be automatic: "Yes, we want an Islamic state and with that out goes drinking, gambling, concerts and other what-not."
Make or break
Indeed, no amount of ranting is ever going to resolve this fundamental issue, one that is even plaguing the Barisan Nasional (BN) government as it wrestles with PAS to prove which is more 'Islamic'.
This issue may very well make or break the BA in the general elections of 2004.
Therefore, it is best, as Lim said, to open the issue to public debate and let the rakyat decide. Let's ask the people openly, "Do you or don't you want an Islamic state?"
If the answer is yes, then tell people what kind of Islamic state and the implications? How is it going to affect the life of non-Muslims?
Otherwise, the display of animosity on the Opposition front only beckons others to say, as Umno information chief Mustapha Mohamed allegedly did in The Sun daily on Friday, that 'DAP and PAS were 'playing games' over religion'.
He warned that many countries had been destabilised and their people left suffering because of religious strife.
"His (Mustapha's) statement is most deplorable as DAP and PAS are not involved in religious strife," said Lim.
"Let us prove that Malaysia is a country where it is safe to disagree and where differences in culture, religion or political opinion can be aired in a democratic environment without escalating into violent conflict," he added.
Yes, it is time for BA to make a stand on this issue so as to avoid further confusing its supporters who look to the front as the last bastion of hope to oust what the opposition has called a "tyrannical, corrupt, unjust and undemocratic" regime.
If efforts in this direction fail, DAP must leave, as Karpal had said 'the people would demand it'. DAP's principles would demand it too, he added.
Otherwise, Karpal said, PAS should leave the front as it is the only communal party.
Several BA leaders said there may yet be time left to save whatever remaining efforts put in by BA in order to deny BN a two-thirds majority come 2004.
They said this was better than the endless drama between opposition partners and the media having a field day pitting one against the other.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said that the opposition parties were nothing but a'pack of thieves, and sooner or later they will run'.
This time, many would tend to agree with him.
SUSAN LOONE is a malaysiakini journalist.
