PAS — understated but potent (Tanjak.my 27 April 2018)

We are steadily entering the metaphase of GE14 with the voters lining up right in the middle of the equator, as the chromosomes normally would in the phase. The only twist to this analogy is that there are three spindles in this cell, instead of the usual two and thus wreaking havoc to the whole cell.

The third bloc under the Gagasan Sejahtera umbrella was effectively created by PAS when DAP decided to evict it from Pakatan Rakyat sometime in 2015. Since then, PAS has refused to join either Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Harapan.

Gagasan Sejahtera, comprising PAS, Ikatan, Berjasa and Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM), started to take form in 2016.

Sure, there have been many candidates in the past that aimed to formulate a third bloc – either as independent candidates or through fringe parties such as the now defunct Human Rights Party, established by Hindraf’s P. Uthayakumar. However, none of the peripheral parties actually formed a commendable challenge to the two-‘party’ system that had begun to take root since the opposition’s phenomenal success in the 2008 general election.

The only real question now is whether contemporary voters are ready to navigate this fraught political phase.

PAS’s long game is the wellbeing of Islam

In many advanced democratic countries, having third parties is part and parcel of electing politicians into office. In the United States, for example, although a majority of the votes go to either the Democratic or Republican candidates but candidates from the Libertarian Party or the Greens still manage put up a respectable fight. In 2016, Gary Johnson from the Libertarian Party received the third highest number of votes behind Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton while Jill Stein from the Green Party came in fourth.

The third parties are usually seen in a heroic light allowing alternative choices that are more in line with the voters’ own conscience. The French 2017 presidential election was a good sample of how candidates from different parties serve distinct ideological interests: the old mainstream Socialists were represented by their candidate Benoit Hamon, and the old mainstream Republicans had François Fillon. A new breakaway movement called La France Insoumise led by Jean-Luc Mélenchon fared better in the first round, coming in fourth against Hamon leading its mother party (the Socialists) that pulled in in fifth place.

In the run-off or second round, the relatively-new centrist party, En Marche! successfully pushed its candidate, Emmanuel Macron to presidency past the far right, anti-globalization Marine Le Pen. With a multi-party system fully in place, they managed to install a completely fresh and youthful face to the top job.

As a country, our 60-year-old Malaysia cannot continue to excuse its shortcomings by saying we’re a young democracy. It is no longer that young. It is about time that Malaysian citizens either demand better candidates or offer ourselves to be the better alternatives. As a unified society, we have to initiate steps towards better democracy, where the politicians are not only transparent in their works but also accountable for all of their actions. To allow this to be conceivable, we must have a stronger third force(s) to act as watchdogs on the main political coalitions.

Many have speculated on PAS’s role in the GE14 fight; some maintained that the Islamist party is only there to split the Malay votes and others claimed that PAS is the only real saviour of the Malay Muslims against the rapid advance of the religio-political forces in Malaysia. One thing remains true, however. PAS itself has always maintained in its manifesto a strong advocacy for the wellbeing of Islam and its functionaries.

A simple and straightforward PAS promise

The unpretentious thing about PAS is their unadulterated focus on ingraining Islamic values into the Malaysian system, including by tabling the controversial bill to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965. The initial drama saw how Umno promised to lend a helping hand by absorbing the bill as a government bill to allow it a speedy tabling in the parliament. Eventually Umno pulled out and the bill was tabled by the PAS president as a private member’s bill.

Bystanders saw this as a courageous move by PAS albeit an unpopular one amidst the objection and contention by some MPs that the bill is a prelude to introducing hudud laws in Malaysia. The objections are valid and must be recognized as registering the fear that many Malaysians still hold when discussing the matter; this also marks the instance where we can make out that Malaysia has moved from a democratic country to a populist one.

PAS’s promise is simple: it is looking out for the moral and spiritual welfare of Malaysia. It has never pressed a keen interest in other matters – be it economic or developmental. For this very simple reason, it can be an aid to bigger forces but on its own, PAS cannot be considered as a formidable alternative power. It is enough that PAS exists to provide the balancing factor needed to protect the interest of the Muslim voters but nothing more.

Hopefully in PAS we can repair our morally corrupt society.

When it comes to the crux of the matter, it simply does not matter whether a policy recommended by any political party is beneficial or detrimental. What matters is essentially whether the policy is a popular one. For this reason, many politicians have opted to besmirch their opponents or engage in smear tactics rather than to properly construct and explain their recommendations in their coalition manifesto.

It is therefore not astonishing when many Malaysians express the feeling of exhaustipation towards the current political frenzy. ‘Exhaustipation’ is modern urban slang meaning “too tired to give a shit”. This political fatigue will likely translate into lethargy, and the lethargy then into an inertia resulting in a low voter turnout.

In other words, sections of the electorate may decide to abstain from casting their ballot and just stay at home.

A suppressed voter turnout harms Pakatan Harapan’s chances. PAS supporters, on the other hand, are the most loyal, diligent and energized. PAS can fill stadiums to the overflow – a feat none of the other parties are able to accomplish.

So how strong will PAS be as a third force? We shall find out very soon.

*First appeared in Tanjak.my on Apr 27, 2018.