PAS is not harping on Islamic state anymore as it gears up for the 13th general election, with its president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang saying the time has not come yet to establish an Islamic state.

He even went further to say that in the Quran, there was no mention about an Islamic state but welfare state, and political analysts believe that the party is concerned about its strategy for the next general election.

“What Hadi does is basically to go alone with what the party did for the 2008 general election by focusing less on the Islamic state issue, otherwise it will make other Pakatan (opposition pact of PKR, DAP and PAS) members uneasy,” said political analyst Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, a lecturer with Universiti Sains Malaysia .

“It’s more of preparing the party for the general election rather than strengthening the party. But it gives a different signal to their conservative supporters. This could bring more friction within PAS when the party is trying to be moderate,” he added.

Such political rhetoric will definitely make PAS traditional supporters uneasy as the party will be seen to be more inclined towards the opposition pact framework rather than their own ideology.

This explains why some leaders from the conservative side, especially the party’s ulama or cleric chief Harun Taib, who has openly stated that the party should not be more inclined towards Pakatan Rakyat (PR).

“Harun believes that the PR framework is weakening PAS as the party is strong on its own. That’s why I believe they would view Hadi’s speech as further weakening the party if the leaders can’t convince their traditional supporters,” said Sivamurugan.

But on the ground, many of its traditional supporters are already feeling uneasy as they believe PAS has sacrified more than the other members of the pact.

“They also don’t want the party to rely too much on non-Malay support,” said Sivamurugan.

However, some political observers argue that PAS has not abandoned its aspiration to establish an Islamic state as Hadi’s focus is on welfare state, which is similar to Islamic state.

They have explained that Islamic state is just another label but what is more important is the implementation.

“It is not only about branding because if there is no implementation, it is of no use. We must begin with implementation,” said an observer.

The same observer said Hadi had clarified after his opening speech at the 57th PAS Muktamar (general assembly) that the difference between Islamic state and welfare state was only semantic as both concepts upheld people’s wellbeing.

In the past, PAS had received flak from certain quarters for its hardline stance on issues concerning Islam, including the setting up of an Islamic state and implementing the hudud law.

However, the party has since appeared to tone down its stance after joining PR, a move which drew mixed response from its supporters since the last general election in March 2008.

Selangor state executive council member Datuk Dr Hasan Ali said Hadi’s point was that the party had not abandoned its Islamic principles, but there was always room for discussion when there were differences of opinion, hence assuring that the party was still on its original course.

However, this mixed signal has given some avenue to the party detractors such as MCA to hit at the party, claiming the party’ real intention was still to establish an Islamic state.

“Harun Taib’s calling on the party leadership not to bow to requests made by other PR component parties is out of self-interest. It is also clear that they are not working cohesively and have no common objective. The only thing they want is to amass votes at all costs,” said MCA secretary-general Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha.

“PAS strives for an Islamic state, DAP wants a secular state, while Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) just meddles in the centre, hoping to make its de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, prime minister of the country.

“Thus, it is obvious that PR is just an opportunistic collaboration which is bound to split,” he said.

Source : Bernama