Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Supporting PAS?

I'll be honest. After nearly a year in a coalition partnership with PAS, have I managed to satisfy myself that I'm completely comfortable with PAS and all their principles and philosophy? No. There are issues of politics which I'm not so happy with in Selangor PAS, and there are of course issues which I've blogged often in relation to narrow views of "morality" (e.g., rock concerts are immoral) that pops up every now and then.

However, have there been a greater understanding of PAS as a political organisation, as well as much improved relationship with some of the leaders within PAS? Absolutely. I'll go so far as to say that I'm proud to be sitting on the same side of Parliament with some of these PAS leaders, whom I've grown to have tremendous amount of respect for.

As an example, I am completely impressed by PAS Member of Parliament for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad (for those who may not know, he's also Datuk Shahrir Samad's younger brother). If he is my MP, I'll give my vote to him any time, irrespective of who is challenging him from Barisan Nasional, be it UMNO, MCA or Gerakan. I can also say with utmost certainty that he will be one of the PAS candidates whom I'll be personally campaigning hard and actively for, in the next general elections - whenever and wherever he chooses to stand.

Checkout for example, one of his recent column contributions to The Malaysian Insider, entitled "A Question of Morality". It's certainly no ordinary piece, if you were to have a stereotypical impression of PAS leaders.

On differences on morality:
For Pas we have a clearly defined set of right and wrong, moral and immoral and although it may have similarities with some universal values, there are some huge differences particularly in that of the “personal arena”. What Pas and Islam see as immoral may be something quite acceptable in the eyes of other cultures. Take the question of drinking wine, for example. Similarly, there are items which Islam accepts, which to other cultures is not quite as acceptable. The easiest example here would be polygamy.
And on over-zealousness:
Actually it is this kind of zealousness which the non-Muslims fear from Pas and this is where we must emulate the spirit of the Islam more accurately. We should not become zealous moralists who wish to enforce their moral code on others. As I always say, preach, reason and argue with them in the best of ways. Never give them the impression that we wish to impose something on them irrespective of how noble the intentions. That was the way of the Prophet and that too must be our way.
Read of course, the full article for context. With enlightened leaders such as Khalid Samad, I certainly see no reason why the Pakatan Rakyat "shotgun" coalition cannot withstand the test of time. Instead, I can possibly imagine that the coalition partners can increase their mutual respect for each other with better understanding, which will ultimately deliver a better and brighter Malaysia in time to come. ;-)

19 comments:

sp lim said...

I've heard him speak. Very good speaker. Another Pas MP who impressed me is Dr. Dzulkifly Ahmad. We would definitely like to see more of these moderates and intellectuals in PAS. My perception of PAS has changed a lot due to these leaders.

Anonymous said...

same thing here tony. as a PAS member, am i happy with DAP? no!!! big no!. but there are few leaders such as LGE and Ngeh that have earned my respect! you have to work harder tony. less singapore-thinking please. and some DAP leaders? not worth mentioning at all. for example...why on earth did chong eng bark about allowing the use of mandarin in official business? malay is the official language...full stop! you can speak mandarin if you want but when it comes to official business...it has to be malay!

Sans said...

This article has comments from the general public on your proposal to take over PLUS


http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/19159-dap-proposes-plan-for-north-south-expressway-to-toll-free-by-2016

Anonymous said...

Ya I think we all should.
Don't look at the PAS leaders/s in Selangor only for that matter.
Please open our eyes wide and our heart too.
Just look at Kelantan under the flagship of Tok Guru Nik Abdul Aziz.
Has any Chinese or Indian or Portugese suffer under PAS in that state?
Have we ever heard them being subjected to any form of political threats, bribery and what not to support PAS in Kelantan?
For one to rule justily, one need not have to introduce draconian act to gain power, but rather the feeling of respect and mutual turst among the many races in Malaysia coupled with strong bondage and understanding on each other's religious beliefs is of utmost importance for country to exist in peace and harmony.
But out of which, the other races practising their own religion must acknowledge that Islam is the official religion in Malaysia as enshrined in the Federal Constitution. And that for whatever reason cannot be challenged.
That being the case, however, the Malay Muslims, being the majority race themselves must not be cruel, shrewd and intolerant toward the other races that together live under the same roof.
Justice must not only be seen to be projected,but must be adhered to and followed in the honest possible manner according to the syariah law as practised by the Prophet Mohamad P.B.U.H.
One must practise what they preach and in so doing, always be truthful to himself and those he rule, and believe they are under the watchful eye of Allah The Almighty in whatsoever they things that they undertake.
So I for one believe that there are room for compromise and further talks between the religious authorities in this country in order to see that our country progresses further in this ever challenging world.
We should however not dwell too much on this subject as all Malaysians, regardless of races and creed, should gather their strength and resources to uplift the country's economy first and seek political stability if we were to compete with other countries in the region.
Then, not forgetting to fortify ourselves militarily to protect all citizens of the country from outside threats.
If we are weak, then threats from outside is ever imminent as our enemy/ies know where our weaknesses are.
So I hope every Malaysian should instil the spirit of patriotism too in oneself to protect this beloved country from the enemy within ourselves and that of outside.
Peace be to All Races.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately Khalid Samad is the exception, in a sea of religo-politician. Even his relationship with his brother despite their political difference is very good.

There will always be more people who will abuse religion in politics than people who will hold it up the highest standards AND ALL religion, the fact that much is unexplained or unaccountable i.e, the nature of faith, is so easy to abuse politically.

The fact that secularist like DAP and religo-party like PAS can work together is a reflection that SO MUCH is fundamentally wrong with this country and the BN govt that the religious aspect need not be divisive in PR. However, at some point the difference will surface. It is inevitable...

Unknown said...

and yes tony, as PAS member in cheras,many of our members including me wore DAP tshirts in 99,04 and 04 elections, with a few ustazs having long beard wearing it too, it looks funny and weird but we follow instructions from our leaders so we got no problem with it even some of us feel very uneasy because we our leadres knows best on what to do,AND YOU KNOW TONY? most off our members dont even know or met yb tan kok wai until now.so what is your opinion?

I,m dissapointed with hassan ali, and yes i sure do esp last few statement from him, and rest assured we do give him our protest in whatever ways but we do it internally.

pls give a call to DAP yb miss teo from serdang and ask her our PAS members in balakong,Bangi cooperate with her, we like her, she sure do know how to comminicate with our friends(PAS) there.

i,ve been reading your statements and blog for a couple of months and i dont think you know PAS througly.

sorry for my english, i,m just a plain ex rocker turned PAS. sekolah tak tinggi bro. know little bit english during schooling days at st michaels, ipoh.

Anonymous said...

there is one other thing that worries me about PAS- their mission to change the language medium from Eng. Language to BM for MAths and Science. it seems they are organising a big rally on 7/3/09- is that necessary??? why can't they see the importance of learning this subjects in Eng.?
How is that we are labelled traitor for wanting the best for our kids?
this worries me greatly, after all I belong to a minority grp(there is no such thing as BAngsa Malaysia, that's for fairytale land only), chances of my child getting into local university is very slim, so here I am as a parent struggling to make ends meet and ensuring she gets all the education she can get but it seems some ppl prefer to go backwards than to move forward!
if the changes happens, then we will have to look into other alternative.

I live my life with a vision for my child, a very clear one and would not allow some politic wanna be superheroes to destroy that.

Anonymous said...

No doubt they are good leaders, and I think they are a different breed.

Question here is...when the time comes when submission is needed to adhere to the party's ultimate leadership which may not subscribe to the same, will we see these leaders in influencing the others in their ranks to adopt the same approach?

As for anonymous comment that "malay is the official language...full stop! you can speak mandarin if you want but when it comes to official business...it has to be malay!"...I agree that Malay is the official language but that need not stop us from using Mandarin, Spanish, Portuguese or Arabic if it is use to promote certainty, understanding and feasibility of carrying out a business transaction. Imagine if a foreigner were to come and we insist on using Malay in which he/she may not understand.

Anonymous said...

Even with an happy marriage, it still needs time and understanding to mellow into a ideal union...nothing can be perfect.
It is the people perception of PAS as a fanatical religious political party, mostly created in the minds of non muslim by BN, especially MCA.
In the last GE, the perception has changed to acceptance. I pick PAS anytime to MCA anytime, even though, I am a Chinese....at least, PAS does not pretend they champion for non-malays' rights and interests. They are religious moralists and as long they do not force their beliefs on others, they will be well received and respected.

d'Frog Prince said...

whether pas, dap, pkr - no one is perfect. there bound to be some zealots in every party, there bound to be some good ones together with the bad ones.

i am not muslims but i will vote pas anytime, as much as i will vote dap, as long as they stay true to their ideology.

some of the pas leaders are silly lot, but then, same goes for the other parties, dap included. so, i guess, if the overall policy and outlook is a good one, we have to tolerate the bad ones too.

Anonymous said...

Tony,

Off topic a bit.

Toll increases effective March 1.

In announcing this, Works Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Zin Mohammed said the increase was minimal and hoped the public understood that the increase was stipulated in the concession agreements that the government had signed.

“The increase was actually due in January last year but we had postponed it until now. This means the government has been paying compensation for 14 months.”

I thought we are going to have the highways back ?

Sivin Kit said...

Tony, I'll keep it short. I agree with you! :-)

Anonymous said...

anon 11:21,

obviously you did not keep up to date with rapid news inflow in malaysia, didn't you?

read here http://utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0226&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Parlimen&pg=pa_03.htm

you can speak mandarin until your slur, but when you deal with "agensi kerajaan", you must use malay. malay is the official language. full stop!

i guess tomorrow it will be an iban guy demanding all government officers to learn bahasa iban when dealing with the ibanese as malaysia is a "multicultural" country

this kind of mentality..i am afraid will drive the malays away from pakatan rakyat. and remember, without malays support, BN will remain in power come GE13

K L said...

I have got no problem with PAS too. But then, I tend to agree with MM that Malaysia still cannot get rid of race-based party because of PAS.

Anonymous said...

Mates

Why focus on the differences like the Palestinians and the Isrealis and never get into the peace table? Why not talk about the same goals and how to forge the PR. Also please remember the MB of Perak. He fight for everyone and stand up to UMNO and beg to differ with the Sultan.

Anonymous said...

kl 3:56pm

please get your facts right. PAS being a race-based party? are you deep in slumber? PAS has 2 chinese ADUNs (anuar tan of kelantan and lim chuan hing of perak), yet the "multi-racial" DAP does not even have one malay ADUN or MP. still you have the gut to say that PAS is a race-based party?
you statement is laughable and today has managed to replace the america's funniest home video!

Anonymous said...

When it was decided that the MB of my state, Perak would go to PAS, me and my family almost fainted although we are pro PR. Now, less than a year later, I am "proud" of MB Nizar...our hero!! Can't believe it. We came a long way. Believe a lot others too. However, do I always agree with PAS and even PKR. A very big NO. For example, why make a big hoo haa over teaching English? We have to be competitive in this challenging world or else we would DIE. Whatever language that would enable us to be competitive with the world, be a knowledge-base economy we must learn. Be it Arab, Greek, French or Hindi. Let's be bi-lingual, tri-lingual and xx-lingual if you can. Does it compromise your values, your beliefs? Think a bit lah.

Anonymous said...

Just when I'm beginning to be comfortable with PAS, the PAS president floated the idea of unity government. Unity Government? More like united for corruption. BN in particular UMNO can never be reformed. If he can't see that either he should resign as PAS president or take PAS out from Pakatan.

The thought of unity government should be so repulsive and repugnant after what happened in Perak. To even suggest such an idea just shows how power crazy this person is and his willingness to sleep with the devil. For the sake of the country? Oh don't give me such crap!

Anonymous said...

to anon 8.24

yr writing shows u r very new in politics, just wait 1 or 2 days b4 commenting, dont jump the gun like dap leaders eg tony who r also very new in politics.just wait and see or give a hint since, do u know even lks said let hope pak lah to stay, our tok guru and and hj hadi mentioned it few times.
ceh! what am i doing explaining to some guys who dont even know what operation strategy is all about