PAS cannot outsource moderation — Phar Kim Beng

AUGUST 9 — PAS finds itself grappling with the challenge of portraying itself as a genuinely inclusive political force capable of governing Malaysia, despite its ongoing difficulties in convincing non-Malays and non-Muslims to view a PAS-led government as a secure and equal political option. The party has admitted to falling short of attracting sufficient non-Muslim support and needs to address this issue before the 2016 election.

However, acknowledging an electoral issue is not the same as tackling the underlying political causes. In this context, the emergence of Parti Wawasan Negara led by Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin becomes crucial. The central question lies not in the moderation of Wawasan but in whether PAS is attempting to leverage Wawasan's more conventional political language to soften its image without making equivalent changes within PAS itself.

This would be political whitewashing rather than genuine political moderation. Malaysians must understand the distinction. Hadi's PAS is not merely Nik Aziz's PAS; it is the same party that, under Nik Aziz, recognized the need to transcend its conservative Muslim base and engage in coalition politics with non-Muslim and non-Islamist parties.

This understanding allowed PAS to cooperate with DAP and PKR, marking an extraordinary experiment given the ideological differences between PAS and these parties. The significance lies in PAS's acceptance of the discipline of coalition politics in a plural society. It had to persuade Malaysians outside its natural constituency, defend Islamic politics in the language of justice, and reassure those who did not share its theological assumptions.

Under Hadi, the focus has shifted towards consolidating Malay-Muslim political strength, leading to a potential framing of political competition not just as a disagreement over taxation or education but as a struggle for political power to protect Islam and Malays. This is dangerous in a plural federation where Malay and Muslim interests are legitimate democratic subjects, but so are those of other Malaysian communities.

The problem arises when democratic politics becomes an arithmetic exercise in communal consolidation, forcing every other community to question whether they possess sufficient political power against whom. PAS must answer this question. Parti Wawasan Negara provides an intriguing solution to PAS's political predicament. Hamzah's party speaks in the language of governance, development, and national reconstruction, but its relationship with PAS is deeply intertwined, with Hamzah suggesting the party's name and expressing a need for PAS's guidance and cooperation.

This relationship raises the question of whether Wawasan is pulling PAS towards the center or making PAS appear closer to the center than it actually is. The distinction is crucial. If Wawasan persuades PAS to adopt a more inclusive Malaysian political vocabulary, reassuring non-Muslims, defending constitutional pluralism, and demonstrating equal stake for every Malaysian, cooperation with Wawasan could yield positive results.

However, PAS must demonstrate these changes through its own rhetoric, policies, and behavior, as a party cannot outsource moderation. Changing the wrapper is not changing the product.