IF you ever wondered why PAS has never won a single state or parliamentary seat in East Malaysia, look no further than the controversial remarks made by Pasir Puteh MP Nik Muhammad Zawawi Nik Salleh that the Bible was “twisted and amended”. 

Uttered in Parliament, of all places, the PAS backbencher has not only besmirched the sanctity of the Dewan Rakyat but has also infringed upon Article 11 of the federal constitution.

His refusal to apologise, let alone acknowledge that believers of the Christian faith have the right to be offended by such a remark, not only exemplifies his sheer arrogance, but also the utter ignorance of his party. 

Such insensitive and narcissistic assertion against your fellow Malaysians based on religion has no place in this beloved tanahairku. In fact, it would have been labelled as seditious by the Barisan Nasional government of yesteryears.

Alas, times are different. For now is the time for bumiputera Muslims to unite and save the nation from the “scourge of liberalism and secularism” - whatever that means. After the fall of BN, it was time for its prodigal son to finally return. Umno and PAS, the original members of BN, are officially one again. After more than 50 years, the whole hullabaloo that was the 1977 Kelantan emergency has been forgotten and forgiven.

Recently celebrating a whole year of open khalwat with Umno, PAS has finally entered holy matrimony with their sworn foes. The feeling is mutual. Or rather, the end goal is mutual: power.

Make no mistake, this is nothing more than an opportunistic union for both. Specifically, for Umno, tendencies for extremism such as the one shown by Nik Zawawi is what they seek and the card in which they played to get back to where they are now. 

During Pakatan Harapan’s reign, one by one, racial and religious issues were amped up. Issues that suddenly fell on deaf ears as PAS finally took over the steering wheel of the nation, mind you. Yet their supporters turned a blind eye. The tunnel vision of PAS and their supporters is a classic manifestation of xenophobia. An extreme “us against them” mentality that saw PAS laughably believing they could win the 14th general election on their own.

This “PAS bubble” the party leaders and supporters live in is truly astounding. A bubble that created an echo-chamber that deafens the voice of reason. A party that prides themselves in championing morality, as long as they are the one who defines what is good or bad. Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz infamously told a lie regarding a incriminating voice recording and justified it as for the greater good. 

Just today, his reaction to the attorney-general’s shocking “no further action” decision on his fellow party leader, Khairuddin Aman Razali’s breach of mandatory quarantine said it all. Saying that the issue of a minister breaking the law and getting away with it as a small matter speaks volumes of the party’s morality.

Previously, the PAS president claimed because Khairuddin ended up Covid-19-negative and didn’t start a cluster justified his means of breaking quarantine. A complete contradiction to his statement a year ago that no politics should be an “end justifying the means”.

Even more shocking is PAS Mursyidul Am’s absurd blaming of both the Health and Foreign Ministries for his party leader’s breaking of the law. It seems being a PAS member elevates someone to a higher pedestal that even someone who can’t follow proper procedures were likened to a figure in a holy tale as that was what Hashim Jasin compared Khairuddin with. 

In fact, the views of its spiritual leader is so extreme that even PAS’ mouthpiece Harakah returns an error 404 when you try searching for an article on it.

It can be argued that all of this would not have happened if the great Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat was still alive today. 

Yes, the party would not have been the government should they never change their stance on Umno and sly political manoeuvering, but at what cost?

In the search for power, the proud party has now divided the nation even more in the false pretext of uniting it. – October 23, 2020.

* Saiful Ridzaimi reads The Malaysian Insight.