PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s allocation of RM1.9 billion for Islamic development under Budget 2024 – an increase of RM400 million from the previous year – only shows his government’s priority in the Islamic agenda, analysts said.

They said the hike should not be seen as a contest of Islam between the unity government and Perikatan Nasional (PN).

They added that the amount is in fact insufficient to attract Malay-Muslim voters to back the unity government after PN had secured most of the Malay votes in the last general election.

Political analyst Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said Anwar has a deep interest in Islamic development and this can be traced back to his time in Umno.

The academic said the increase of RM400 million from Budget 2023 should not be seen as being for political purposes.

“Anwar in many of his political speeches had touched on the need to strengthen Islam in the country and this can be traced back from his time in Umno.

“Anwar is the one who had been vocal about Islamisation, from men wearing long pants to women covering their heads to the formation of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia.

“He didn’t just create slogans but he practised what he said, and now as the prime minister, he is trying to empower Islamic institutions,” he said. 

Mazlan also said even if there was an effort to counter PAS’ Islamisation narrative, the Budget 2024 allocation was not meant to challenge the Islamist party’s ideology.

“Maybe we can say there are indirect efforts but that is not the main reason. What Anwar is doing is a continuation of his struggle long before he became the prime minister,” he added.

In his budget announcement on Friday, Anwar said the increased amount included allocations for the construction of two Islamic educational institutions, SM Integrasi Sains Tahfiz in Bukit Jalil and SMK Agama Jempol in Negeri Sembilan, at a cost of RM220 million.

He said a total of RM150 million was also provided to the Islamic Development Department of Malaysia (Jakim) to maintain and upgrade the infrastructure of Islamic educational establishments, including religious schools, and registered pondok and tahfiz institutions.

In addition, the unity government has also decided to restore the grant assistance of RM20,000 to all religious schools registered under Jakim, which had been halted since 2003.

The government also agreed to provide a special increased contribution of RM700 directly to 70,000 religious teachers, imam and other religious staff with an allocation of over RM50 million.

No political motive

Meanwhile, Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid, an academic from Universiti Sains Malaysia, said the allotment was relatively small compared with other allocations given by Putrajaya.

He also said the increase in allocation for Islamic development was nothing new as previous governments had also set aside funds for Islamic development.

“This matter is guaranteed under the Federal Constitution and it cannot be disputed. If we want to say that the increase is politically motivated, every administration has done it. 

“Therefore it is quite unfair to label the allocation as a political move. In fact, even in the ‘secular’ Penang government, funds for Islamic development are provided and is one of the state’s top agendas,” said Fauzi.

Fauzi also echoed Mazlan’s sentiment that Anwar is known for his interest in Islamic matters.

“He has always been associated with Islam and Islamic movements. After his imprisonment he mingled along with liberalism and now as the PM, he wants to reclaim his Islamic credentials,” said Fauzi.

Azmi Hassan of Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research, on the other hand, said the budget for Islamic development was not to challenge PAS or PN’s popularity.  

He said the RM400 million increment was not a huge amount for any political reason.

“The allocation is just enough for development purposes, nothing political about it. It will not go to outshine PAS’ popularity nor will it be able to attract Malay voters,” the former academic said. 

Surging ‘green wave’

Oh Ei Sun of Pacific Research Center of Malaysia believed that Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) is trying to engage with the ongoing “green wave” phenomenon initiated by PAS.

The strategist said the unity government was looking for the most strategic way to temper the socio-political upheaval.

He added that Anwar, together with his former mentor in Umno Dr Mahathir Mohamad, had once worked side by side to counter the Islamist party’s rising influence.  

“Anwar has always had an Islamist streak since his earliest days as a political activist. When he was in government with Dr Mahathir in the 1980s, the two worked hand in hand in realising a more religious outlook for the public sector and by extension for the whole socio-political sphere, partly as political countermeasures to at least match, if not neutralise, PAS’ then mounting political-Islam appeal.

“As time passed by and after going through his many political tribulations, during which he had time to read widely and ponder deeply on both spiritual and earthly matters, Anwar appears to have moderated his Islamist views and is now a big proponent of a more moderate version of socio-political religiosity, as expressed in his Madani concept,” said Oh.

“It is therefore not surprising that he piled on the religious development budget, partly also in reaction to engaging with the surging green wave. PH-BN realised their main rival has been PAS since at least the last general election, but they seem to still be searching for the most feasible solution to handle this socio-political challenge,” Oh added. – October 16, 2023.