[Malaysia] PAS' New Leaders

Radio Singapore International

Malaysia's largest opposition party PAS names new liberal leaders
June 6, 2005

Malaysia's largest opposition party named new liberal leaders, shunning hard line clerics on Sunday. Parti Islam se-Malaysia or PAS elected 43-year-old reformist Nasharudin Mat
Isa as new deputy to ultra conservative leader Hadi Awang. Many other liberals also won posts, marking a major power shift in the party ahead of general elections in 2008.

This shows that PAS realizes the old guards don't have what it takes to win the votes and that it must modernize with the times.

Professor Shamsul A. Baharrudin (SB) is the Director of the Institute of the Malay World and Civilization at the University Kebangsaan in Malaysia. He first tells Howie Lim the significance of Nasharudin Mat Isa being voted in as new deputy to Hadi Awang.

SB: I think the most important consequence of this is that the PAS members are giving a signal to the public that it is willing to change from what seemed to be a very exclusive party leadership to a more inclusive one in which interests of Malays beyond Islam and non-Muslims will be considered equally important in this multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society so PAS is ready to make changes to its approach and policy.

Nasharudin's also been touted as one who represents the group of young professionals who turned to PAS after Anwar Ibrahim was sacked and arrested in 1998. He is also seen as a rising star in PAS and the future face of the party. Tell us more about the man.

SB: I think if Nasharudin takes over, what it promises is that he's a very global and international person and secondly, he's also involved in the corporate movement and therefore, I can see PAS moving away from the Taliban type of politics, to a more right now and contemporary type of politics.

Could you also comment on the significance of the many other liberals who won posts such as Husam Musa, Mohamed Sabu and Hasan Ali? Does this indicate the general direction that PAS will be taking?

SB: What we have to read from this is that these leaders are already there, even in the old guard. What's important now is how can these leaders who are in the old guard change according to the new leadership and therefore, I believe, they will be inline in the way they think with the new shift in PAS and this will bring PAS to a different level of communications and also interaction with the general public and with the potential voters as well. I think these are the changes we will be looking out for with the new leadership.

Hadi Awang talks about the party needing to change to stay relevant. Could you elaborate on this? Has PAS been languishing thus far? SB: If we look at the concrete results of the election in 99 and 2004, PAS has actually won support by default. Also, in our over anxious need to exert about the global influence Islam has over the world, we've forgotten that PAS hasn't delivered very much economically to their voters. We need to move beyond political Islam and into more bread and butter Islam. I think this is what we're looking at because the loss they suffered in Kelantan cannot be denied. They fell from the dominant party to hardly surviving with less than a two seat majority. You can see that even without the 99 success and 2004 failure Kelantan being the center for PAS for many years has also suffered from loss of support.

Though Hadi Awang talks about this need to change, he does say that this leadership change will not mean that PAS drops its goal of turning Malaysia into a strict Islamic state, based on the Koran. How does this go inline with the changes that PAS is undergoing, like you talked about?

SB: Well, these are all pronouncements that he's made, I think, as a safe-face device that had to be made in order to comfort themselves. These are the contradictions they have to solve in party as soon as possible.

And that was Professor Shamsul A. Baharrudin (SB), Director of the Institute of the Malay World and Civilization at the University Kebangsaan in Malaysia, speaking to Howie Lim.



http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/6/6/nation
/11142788&sec=nation

Most dramatic change in decades
JOCELINE TAN Monday June 6, 2005

A LOUD roar of approval erupted from the packed hall when it was announced that Nasharudin Mat Isa was the new deputy president of PAS. The 42-year-old rising star had defeated two of the most established faces in PAS. But for the PAS faithful present, it was more than just a contest for a top party post.

Nasharudin's win signified the most dramatic leadership change that the party had seen in decades. It also signalled the party's intention to introduce urgent reform in the party.

Nasharuddin polled 536 votes against the hardline incumbent Senator Hassan Shukri and former Kelantan deputy mentri besar Datuk Halim Abdul Rahman. The three men stayed glued to their seats as the standard salutation of Takbir! and "Allah!" rose from the floor.

Hassan, ousted after only one term, was a dogmatic figure whom many saw as a liability to president Datuk Seri Hadi Awang. Hadi sat expressionless through the announcement. He had remained above the fray throughout the election campaign.

But his long-time friend and party colleague Datuk Mustafa Ali said: "Hadi may not show it but he is for the change. He really welcomes it."

Party members would be loathed to admit it but Hadi has struggled to fill the shoes of his late predecessor, Datuk Fadzil Mohd Noor, who was respected for his Islamic rigour as well as his political dexterity.

Hadi's Islamic credentials are quite unchallenged but he has none of the political savvy and charm of Fadzil.

It is obvious that members think that Nasharudin, with his relative youth, education, broad worldview and people skills, will be able to complement Hadi.

The vice-presidents' contest also ushered Kelantan top favourite Husam Musa, 46, into the top placing. Kedah orator Mohamad Sabu, 50, came in second. His win is seen as the delegates' way of keeping the geographical balance of power in the party. Incumbent Datuk Dr Hassan Ali, who is also Selangor PAS chief, retained his seat but the wind of change blew him down to third place.

The fact that delegates were prepared to accept an all non-ulama team of vice-presidents also surprised onlookers.

Members insist the trio make a good team - Husam as a thinking politician, Mat Sabu as grassroots leader and Dr Hassan as the link to the middle-of-the-road Malays.

Woman vice-president candidate Dr Siti Mariah Mahmood failed to make it despite staunch support from Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

The dominantly male delegates were obviously not ready for a woman.

Husam, 46, had been the favourite from the beginning. His efforts at turning around Kelantan's financial crisis had won him admirers in the party and accolades from his Mentri Besar boss.

Nik Aziz, who had turned up only after lunch, after complaining of a headache earlier in the morning, tried not to smile too broadly at his young protégé's victory.

Out-going vice-president Mustafa probably felt the greatest sense of satisfaction. He had sent out a strong signal when he stepped aside to make way for new blood.

Some said the party agenda Hadi spelt out in his presidential speech on Friday was seen by delegates as a signal for a new and more energetic team to carry out the onerous challenge.

The central committee saw about 30% new faces.

PAS is not a party that accepts change easily or readily. It must have taken a great deal of courage for members to go for such dramatic change. The expectations of the new team will be sky-high and the new line-up will have to perform and deliver.