FORMER IDEAS chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan’s recruitment into Bersatu can attract Malay-Muslim moderates into Pakatan Harapan, said academics.

“Wan Saiful’s inclusion into Bersatu will also create a small wave towards Pakatan, as he is well known as a talented Malay intellectual,” said Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Prof Dr Mazlan Ali today.

The politics and public policy lecturer said the 43-year-old is someone looked up to by young Malay voters, who are keen on Islamic issues.

Different from Malay moderates, the Malay-Muslim voter group also happens to be a core group in Umno and PAS, he added.

Universiti Malaya’s Associate Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the inclusion of academics into politics will mean better “check and balance” for the parties.

“They can be check and balance within Pakatan on issues concerning social movement and grassroots voices that have been sidelined.

“Wan Saiful and Maria Chin Abdullah’s training and exposure in social movements will enable them to be more proactive when tackling issues,” said the Malay studies lecturer.

Wan Saiful was unveiled as a Bersatu member yesterday and is expected to be fielded in the next elections.

Prior to joining Bersatu, Wan Saiful was a PAS member and the founder CEO of the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs in 2010 and is a visiting senior fellow of ISEAS-Ishak Yusof Institute of Singapore.

Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria is also expected to contest in the 14^th general election under the Pakatan banner.

The vocal woman’s rights activist, however, said she has not decided yet on the issue although discussions are ongoing.

Different flavour

Awang Azman said their inclusion will also add to the different voices in Parliament.

“Like other academics or activists who have joined politics, they can add value with their experience of handling data and research. This is a dynamic contribution to the progress of politics in the country.”

The only thing they need to watch out for is to ensure their idealism is not affected by the pragmatism of politics, he said.

“It is hoped that they will be realistic and not affected by idealism that is easy to come in the academic or activism world.”

Maria and Wan Saiful are among the biggest names in civil society today, Mazlan said.

“Maria is a well-known democracy activist while Wan Saiful is an influential Malay-Muslim thinker.

“Maria will strengthen the civil society support for Pakatan as she is seen as someone with a strong track record and consistent in her fight due to her work in Bersih 2.0.”

Wan Saiful is among the long line of academics and activists who have joined politics.

Current MPs who started their careers in activism before joining politics include Subang MP R. Sivarasa (Suaram), Batu MP Chua Tian Chang (Network of Overseas Student Collectives) and Marang MP Abdul Hadi Awang (Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia or ABIM).

One former academic who moved from academia to politics was Dr P. Ramasamy, who was a professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia before becoming deputy chief minister of Penang and former Batu Kawan MP.

Besides Hadi, who eventually became PAS president, the most successful or prominent activist to cross the divide from activism to politics is PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Like Hadi, Anwar also had his roots in ABIM. Starting as a student leader in National Union of Malaysian Muslim Students (1968-1971), Anwar co-founded ABIM.

In 1982, Anwar joined Umno and rose quickly up the political ranks becoming the sports minister in 1983. After that, he headed the agriculture and education ministries before becoming deputy prime minister in 1993. – March 2, 2018.