IN his recent “Keluar Sekejap” podcast, Khairy Jamaluddin clearly did not hold back and delivered a scathing criticism against the labelling of “green wave” political phenomena.

To KJ, the idea of “green wave” – coined after PAS outstanding electoral showing and became officially the largest single party in parliament with 43 seats – is deeply problematic for it contains a connotation of a theocratic and illiberal rule should PAS continue to garner electoral support.

In his own words, KJ has even gone as far as equating PAS to Taliban, who has been governing with an iron fist where women are banned from attending universities. 

Clearly, there is some truth in KJ’s exasperation, where the term has been employed by certain political quarters to arouse public fear towards what a potential PAS government could do if they were given the mandate.

At least in the Chinese circle of which I have been monitoring, almost every constructive criticism on the current performance of this government is bat away with the sneering reply that if it is not us, then it would be a Perikatan Nasional (PN) government that is in charge.

With that, even an apolitical Chinese would instantly understand the tacit message that Pakatan Harapan (PH) is trying to deliver. This is perhaps the dog whistle politics that has incurred KJ’s wrath. 

However, like many things, it takes two hands to clap, where the progenitor of the green wave is too happy to play the role that its opponent wanted.

This is fact KJ has either failed to hold PAS to account or deliberately ignored in order to please his political crowd.

As a minority in this country, while I do not subscribe to the religious overtone of what a green wave is trying to convey, there is also a legitimate worry among minorities that if PAS decides to continue this path of narrow version ethno-religious discourse, the existential threat of a “green wave” that non-Muslims feared might soon become a reality. 

We were told the pragmatic side of PAS would emerge once it is in power.

However, it is also true we are in uncharted political territory where the religious right of the Islamist party is at its strongest.

This strong electoral showing should have given the opportunity for PAS to become more appealing, but it has instead chosen to continue its deeply divisive rhetoric.

Against the “spectre” of “green wave” that PH is preaching, Abdul Hadi Awang does not even hide the fact his brand of Islamism believes this unity government is unfit to rule because it is dominated by minorities.

Even after being chided by the prime minister himself, the PAS president did not back down but instead doubled down on his divisive message that only Malay-Muslims are fit to lead this country.

If the “green wave” is merely a dog whistle, then the divisive rhetoric consistently peddled by Hadi is akin to someone holding a microphone screaming at minorities that you are not welcomed in this country. 

What has caught the imagination of this country from PAS as the largest opposition party is not how they would handle the cost of living crisis or proposing an alternative economic strategy, but rather trying its best to restrict freedoms and imposing a certain lifestyle that would shun away minorities or even moderate Malays.

By now, an announcement of an international star performing in Malaysia earning the rebuke of a PAS politician is the most predictable political response Malaysians could expect.

On the other hand, the painful three years of Covid-19 has taught Kuantan MP Wan Razali Wan Nor that the clothing of nurses is one of the most important reforms for our public healthcare.

With PAS in its present state, even the most unbiased political observers would doubt the Islamist party can be pragmatic in managing a multiracial country. 

The “green wave” discourse should be discussed in tandem with the political zeitgeist that this country is under and for whatever reason, KJ has never admitted the fact PAS is also complicit in perpetuating this “green wave” because ultimately, its political strength is actually predicated on stoking fear and division against minorities to create instability within the government.

Hadi’s inflammatory remarks did not see him rejected by voters but he was returned with a greater majority and the “dog whistling” of DAP bogeyman appears to be working effectively, so much so that much of PN has never stopped using it since the last general election.

With opposition like this and regardless of how erroneous and insensitive the comparison may be, can you still fault the minorities for fearing PAS and not wanting to disassociate them as an extremist party, when whatever they say and do so far has not dispelled but reinforced that image? – July 2, 2023.

* Kenneth Cheng has always been interested in the interplay between human rights and government but more importantly he is a father of two cats, Tangyuan and Toufu. When he is not attending to his feline matters, he is most likely reading books about politics and human rights or playing video games. He is a firm believer in the dictum “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will”.

* 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.