A MALAYSIA where a person’s worth is tied to his religion and an economy run according to Islamic concepts of “dosa dan pahala” (sin and reward).

In such a Malaysia, integrity will not be as important as a person’s faith and a corrupt Muslim will still be considered better than a clean non-Muslim.

These are among the facets of the new Malaysia to be built by the Umno-PAS alliance that wants to take over Putrajaya in the 15th general election.

It is a Malaysia that at its core rebrands Umno’s Ketuanan Melayu (Malay supremacy) as Ketuanan Muslim (Muslim supremacy), said Dr Wong Chin Huat, senior fellow at the Jeffrey Cheah Institute on Southeast Asia, Sunway University.

It is a national vision that is diametrically opposed to that of the Pakatan Harapan ruling coalition and its interpretation of Islam.

The building blocks of the Umno-PAS alliance were laid down over the weekend when PAS members at the 65th annual congress or muktamar gave the party the green light to forge an official pact with Umno.

It will be PAS, and not Umno, that will drive the ideals that underpin the foundation for such a Malaysia, said analysts.

These ideals were expounded by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang at the muktamar.

Umno in the minds of most voters has lost its credibility because of the corruption scandals plaguing its leaders and the many revelations of how it ruined the country’s institutions, they said.

“For Umno this plan (of a coalition) can hopefully repair the crisis of confidence that has affected the party by tagging on PAS’s Islamic image,” said Ilham Centre’s Mohd Azlan Zainal.

“Whereas for PAS, it’s a contingency to garner and secure Malay support by using Umno’s vast grassroots network. It is a coalition to win the next general election.”

If the coalition succeeds taking over Putrajaya, said political scientist Prof James Chin, Malaysia will become a formal religious apartheid state where citizens will be more divided than ever before.

“This will be the first Islamic nation with a racial character. Politically, it will mean limited space for non-Malays in the system,” said Chin, of the University of Tasmania.

Integrity v faith

A central tenet in Hadi’s speech is the belief that faith must come before integrity. By faith, Hadi means being Muslim.

In Hadi’s interpretation of Islam, God won’t accept a non-Muslim with high integrity.

“A person who has faith (in Islam) but who has no integrity is better than a person who only has integrity but not faith, because only the prayers of those who have faith will be accepted by God,” Hadi said.

Due to the priority given to this concept of faith, Hadi said, it was more important that political co-operation be started first with those of a similar faith without sidelining those of other faiths.

Azlan said Hadi uses the above argument to justify why Umno can accept PAS, despite the latter’s scandals and lack of integrity.

“The element of Islam and Muslims is being used by PAS to gain support and confidence in this coalition,” said Azlan.

Wong said Hadi’s tenet whitewashes Umno’s decades of malfeasance and corruption.

“With his statement that a Muslim who has no integrity is better than a person who only has integrity and no faith, Hadi provides the strongest defence for corruption and kleptocracy.

In contrast, one of PH’s governing principles is that a non-Muslim who is clean and has high integrity is better than a Muslim who robs and corrupts.

This was repeatedly stressed in all seven past by-elections where PH leaders would point to the example of Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, who was crucial in the administration’s rescue plans for Felda and Tabung Haji.

Distancing from Islam

Although PAS’ vision is peppered with terms like tolerance, humanity and the multicultural aspect of Malaysia, it is similar to Umno’s doctrine of Malay supremacy, said Wong.

However, the difference this time is that PAS is turning it into a doctrine of Muslim supremacy, Wong said, adding that the tone of Hadi’s speech makes it seem that those who disagree with it will be branded anti-Islam.

Azlan sees this ideology as nothing more than an attempt at getting votes from Malays who are swayed by issues regarding the Malay-Muslim agenda and to appease PAS and Umno members still uncomfortable about the alliance.

“The terms of faith and integrity are nothing more than a manipulation of arguments so that this coalition can be accepted by these two parties who have clashed for so long.”

However, Wong sees a graver implication for the image of Islam if Umno and PAS are able to realise their national vision.

“The whole discourse on Muslim supremacy may be accepted by peninsular Muslims but for non-Muslims it is as if Islam is being used as ideology for ethnic unity and a tool of election mobilisation,” said Wong.

“If this ideology becomes mainstream it will be no surprise that non-Muslims will distance themselves from Islam.” – June 24, 2019.