WHAT a colourful political landscape we have at the moment. I revel in the way our political parties have been splintered into various pieces, siloed into their own respective self-fulfilling prophecies and ideological corners.

To me, this is a long time coming and I do not share most pundits’ laments about the lack of parties having any majority whatsoever.

I believe in the proverb that it is always darkest before dawn and with the splintering, our colourful political parties will reveal their true colours behind the thin facade that most present.

Now onto PAS, it’s hardly earth-shattering at this epoch of modern (or postmodern, depending on how well-read you are) Malaysia to hear them denouncing popular culture yet again. In fact, it’s yawn-inducing to me. 

Never has a political party been so unoriginal and bland, akin to a broken record player, spouting ideological gibberish on cue when it finds itself with its back to the wall.

Caught in the obviously narrow and shallow minds that steer its ship, PAS is a party bankrupt of ideas nor solutions to navigate themselves, let alone a nation.

What’s even more annoying is that it continues to politicise faith for its own political capital with a self-righteous zeal.

I have no grouse against any individual from the party – I live in a PAS and Amanah stronghold and have a cordial and friendly relationship with my neighbours – they are fine as private citizens. 

The problem is the party as an entity and its relentless finger-pointing towards minorities and popular culture – music in particular – that raises my irk because, well, I’m a musician and artist. 

Their recent desire to ban international concerts followed quickly by a desire to win the hearts of non-Muslims and non-Bumiputeras after their head honcho’s diatribe about the same group being the roots of all corruption is akin to spitting in the air and waiting for it to fall on your face.

Most Malay-Muslim artists don’t issue any public statements against PAS’ diatribes because it is likely their audience and core fanbase have some root in the party’s stronghold (they too consume popular culture; they are hardly ascetics if you see the imported cars they drive).

These “artists” have so much to lose because their performance of their public persona as Malays and Muslims are subject to close scrutiny by their tribes and folks, that’s why they all become product ambassadors because the source of their income isn’t the “artist” they present themselves as anymore.

That’s just a front to ride on – just like how PAS rides on coattails of faith.

I just wish PAS could be more original in its diatribes and demagoguery because Malays have traditionally been an artistic and crafty lot and the fact it is so unoriginal is what I find disturbing. 

While some have suggested dialogue with them, it’s hard to have a conversation, let alone a dialogue with someone who wants to hijack the conversation because of their inherently proselytising intent.

Back to concerts and PAS, let’s clear the air here because it’s easy to merely stereotype the political party and the populace of the peninsula states they currently reign over. Did you know that some of the best underground bands come from Kelantan?

One of my favourites is Suffercation from Pasir Mas. Their 1992 album Days of Darkness is an important document of the Malaysian death metal scene as they were one of the first Malaysian death metal bands to release an album.

While their genre might be a tad on the heavy side, loud enough to blow away the skullcap off your head, a more recent favourite is Kelantan-via-KL punk band No Good, who is making waves with their fantastic recent album Punk Gong.

Judging by their packed shows during their tour, their politically tinged songs in the Kelantan dialect is a great piece of Malaysian work in recent memory with a finger on the pulse of what’s going on for real, bypassing the usual tepid noise of the mainstream music industry.

To me, if you want an authentic voice of the real Kelantan, listen to them, not PAS’ gibberish fantasies.

Oh yeah, and go catch them live at their next concert and wave your hands in the air proudly – concerts are here to stay in Malaysia.

To quote No Good – KELATE BELONGS TO SEK KITO! – September 9, 2022.

* Azmyl Yunor is a touring underground recording artiste, and an academic in media and cultural studies. He has published articles on pop culture, subcultures and Malaysian cultural politics. He adheres to the three-chords-and-the-truth school of songwriting, and Woody Guthrie’s maxim “All you can write is what you see”. He is @azmyl on Twitter.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.