PAS’ hostile stand towards minorities will make it hard for the Islamist party to woo non-Muslim voters at the next general election, political observers said.

They said PAS’ past and recent actions on issues important to non-Muslims will be the stumbling block in the Islamist party’s effort draw non-Malay votes.

Recently, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had remarked that non-Muslim and non-Bumiputera communities are mostly responsible for corruption in the country, which clearly did not sit well with this segment of society.

His cohorts, too, constantly provoke non-Malay sensibilities with calling for bans on concerts by foreign artistes, consumption of alcohol and gambling.

International Islamic University of Malaysia’s Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar said PAS’ brand of politics may not be appealing to the non-Muslims.

“It has become exclusive (for the Muslims).

“Furthermore, PAS blames all the nation’s problems on the non-Muslims. So, I can’t see how non-Muslims can support this kind of conservatism from PAS,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

In PAS’ recent annual general assembly, Hadi said that PAS needs to overcome the barriers between the party and the non-Muslims in a wise manner.

He said that PAS should approach and collaborate with non-Muslim parties and civil society groups through the PAS Supporters’ Congress (DHPP).

The Marang MP said PAS needs to reach out to non-Muslim voters, especially those who do not have any party affiliation, to vote for Muslim candidates.

‘Forked tongue’

University of Tasmania’s Asian political expert, James Chin, said that Hadi cannot be trusted for what he says in public.

He said that Hadi speaks with a “forked tongue”.

“He very much speaks with a forked tongue, in other words, he says different things to different audiences.

“PAS is only interested in the ummah (the Muslim community) while the non-Muslims cannot enjoy political rights.

“So I won’t take him seriously other than the fact that he strongly believes in ‘ketuanan Melayu’ – Malay and Islam supremacy,” Chin said.

Malay politics observer Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi was also of the view that PAS will have a daunting task attracting the non-Muslim vote.

“It is difficult for PAS to attract non-Muslims in the next general election because of PAS’ numerous remarks against them.

“These (remarks) will keep them away,” the Universiti Malaya professor said.

Meanwhile, Ilham Centre director Hisommudin Bakar said although it was optimistic of the PAS president to make such a promising call during the assembly, he claimed it would only end in vain.

Aside from citing statistics from the 2018 general election of non-Muslims voting for PAS, Hisommudin said that Hadi’s recent remark clearly rubbed salt to the wound.

“The basis of non-Muslim voter support for the party is very low if judged by the achievements of PAS in GE14.

“PAS was only able to get the support of some 5% or so of non-Muslim votes.

“Meanwhile, Hadi’s prejudicial statements against the non-Muslim will not heal in a short period of time.

“He did not even take the opportunity to clarify the situation even in front of the DHPP,” he said.

Hadi had recently blamed non-Muslim and non-Bumiputera communities for corruption in the country.

This did not go well with non-Muslims as several groups filed police reports against the PAS president.

Police have recorded Hadi’s statement but he had recently stated that he will explain his controversial remarks in court.

Among other issues that have caused strife include temple demolition in PAS-led Kedah, its Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s cancellation of the Thaipusam public holiday in 2021, and PAS Youth calling for the cancellation of international concerts recently.

Can PAS hold on to Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah?

Tunku Mohar felt that while PAS seemed undefeatable in Kelantan, it is not the same for them Kedah and Terengganu.

“PAS is strong in Kelantan, and it is going to be difficult for other parties to win there.

“However, politics in Kedah and Terengganu have been rather volatile,” he said.

With the emergence of other Malay parties, leading to possible vote-splitting, Tunku Mohar believed it could be tough for the Islamist party to hold on to the two states.

“With votes splitting among the Malay parties, it is too early to predict whether PAS can win in Kedah and Terengganu,” he added.

Awang Azman also echoed Tunku Mohar’s views, saying that PAS could lose Kedah or Terengganu in the next national polls.

He said PAS’ image in the states they control are less prominent and that their leaders are also not showing satisfactory performance.

“The issues of water, the environment, of alcohol, gambling, concerts and so on failed to be addressed and it is no different from before,” Awang Azman said.

Hisommudin, meanwhile, viewed the situation differently.

He said ever since PAS struck an alliance with former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s Bersatu in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, support for the Islamist party has doubled.

Using the Malacca and Johor elections as points of reference, Hisommudin was of the view that support for PAS had increased.

“The effect of PAS participation in PN shows that their votes have doubled from what they received in the last general election.

“The average percentage of votes obtained by PAS in GE 2018 was 18%. However, when competing on a PN ticket in Malacca and Johor, PAS’ votes increased to 36%.

“Taking into account the support especially in the west coast, where PAS is not strong, the party still managed to increase their number of votes.

“So in states dominated by PAS, of course it (PN) will give the party an advantage to remain in the three states,” he said.

Although there are issues from PAS-led state governments due to their incompetent management and administration, Hisommudin felt that Umno and Pakatan Harapan have failed to act as a strong opposition.

“Given the situation, it is still not clear if PAS can be defeated in these three states,” he added. – September 7, 2022.