Discuss the dichotomy between state Islam and opposition Islam in Malaysia

This essay analyses the difference, polarity and conflict between the state and opposition Islamic parties in Malaysia. Since its independence in 1957, Malaysia has been an electorally competitive authoritarian regime, differing from both closed authoritarian systems and electoral democracy. Elections are inclusive and pluralistic, but not fully competitive and open. The governing Islamic political party namely United Malays National Organization (UMNO) has won all federal elections coalition with other ethnic political parties. Owing to the plural voting system a narrow majority of votes has always guaranteed at least two-thirds of the seats in the national parliament.

Electoral system in Malaysia has two levels: National level and State level. At the national level, voters elect the 222 Members of the Parliament. The majority party will form the federal government and the Prime Minister will be selected from majority of the members. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet shall be collectively responsible to Parliament. The general election must be held every five years. After the independent the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition has governed the country for almost 50 years.

At the state level, voters elect representatives to the State Legislative Assembly. The number of representatives varies between the different states. The Majority party of the state assembly will form the state government.

Following the results of the 2008 elections that badly damaged the image and standing of the ruling UMNO party that is led by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the Islamic political party namely the Parti Islam se-Malaysia or Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)
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became strong opposition party, which a coalition with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) and Parti Keasilan Rakyat or People's Justice Party (PKR). (Annexure I)

The Malay National Party (MNP) was established in 1945 as a 1st political party in Malaysia, this party represented Islamic reformism with Malay nationalism. MNP joint with Pan Malayan Supreme Islamic Council (MATA), Centre of Peoples Power (Putera), and AllMalayan Council of Joint Action (AMCJA) their ideology was anti-imperialism and Malay nationalism, but the main attention was focussed on independence struggle. These parties were officially banning in 1950 by the British.

The UMNO is the main political party in Malaysia, which was established in 1946. The UMNO has ruled Malaysia from the independent (the first election was held on 1959) and governs jointly with Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), GERAKAN etc, most of its support from the Bumiputera, their ideology was Malay nationalism, Malay supremacy, conservatism and Islamic democracy.

In 1950s UMNO modified their policy to accept non-Malay associate members into the party and recommend a substantial liberalisation of non-Malay citizenship requirement for convince the British government and take over the independent Malaysia, due to this change most of the Malay groups opposed to UMNO, the Peninsula Malays Union (PMU) led this opposition parties. PAS and Party Negara also link with this group. They organize number of national conferences, since 1950, during this period All-Malaya National Congress, All Malaya Youth Congress (AMMYC) and All-Malaya Malay Congress were sponsored by the above parties in 1954, 1955 and 1957 respectively. And the demands of these conferences were obtained independence quickly, restricted Malaya nationality, Malay as the immediate
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sole national and official language, and Islam as the official religion. After the 1955 election all of these operations came under the PASs leader Dr. Burhanuddin hand.

PAS is a strong opposition party in Malaysia. In the formative stages (1951) was based on the religious political movement in Malaysia. Its name has the direct link with Islam. PAS was officially registered as a political party in 1955. Their main ideologies are the Malay nationalism and Islamic state, Islamic reformism and Islamic-socialist economy, anticolonialism and defence of Malay rights.

From 1956 to 1969, PAS was under the leadership of Dr. Burhanuddin Al-Helmy his main emphases were still on Malay leftist nationalism, prevent anti-imperialism and socioeconomic condition of the Malays.

Dr.Burhanuddins broad formulation of Malay nationality as not hereditary right of the Malay race, but a political category encompassing people willing to openly allegiance to the Malay nation, and gave opportunity to non-Malays as Malaysian citizens parallel to Bumiputeras. He was more progressive than earlier PAS leaders era.

From 1969 to 1982, Mohd Asri Muda led PAS, who was considered as the Malay Muslim rightist nationalist because he was bring PAS to participate into the National Front (BN), and also supported to New Economic Policy. The ruling BN government and UMNO are the major political party in the National Front and PAS never cooperate with UMNO before and after Mohd Asri. He was pushed the PASs leaders and members to join the National Front, after the general election in 1974 Mohd Asri became the minister of land and rural development and other members got administrative post in federal government and as well as
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the state government, due to this cooperation there were occur some internal conflict within the other member of PAS in Kelantan (with Mohd Asri and Mohd Nasir) and also lost their support from the Malay have nots, they were shifting support to the United Independents in Kelantan and Party Rakyat in Terengganu. The result of 1978 general election, PAS lost many seats in most of the states in Malaysia including Kelantan. The Mohd Asri leadership was pushing down by the other members of PAS in 1983. . Yusof Rawa began another leader of PAS in April 1983; he rejected nationalism of his predecessor Mohd Asri, and shift of doctrine to anti-nationalism, he was unable to keep PAS in the NF after they decided to expel PAS in 1977, his new leadership trend known as the Ulama leadership (religious clerics) because Mohd Asri and earlier leaders of PAS were among the Malay Muslim traditionalist and then nationalist, he established an Ulama Consultative Council Revolution. Under his leadership many Malay graduates from the university in the UK, the USA and Australia became the members of PAS, whose were in the Islamic Revolution Council and voice when they studied in abroad and many professionals and cooperate leaders became the supporters or members of PAS.

Yusof Rawa was officially stepped down and Fadzil Noor replaced him as the national leader of PAS in 1989. In 1999 general election PAS under his leadership won many state and parliamentary seats: PAS, DAP and PKR won 27, 10 and 5 parliamentary seats respectively, while NF won 148 seats out of 193 total parliamentary seats. PAS was able to rule the state of Kelantan and Terengganu and also won few other parliamentary and state seats in Kedah, Pahang, Perlis, Selangor and Perak.

There were many reason for this success of PAS in 1999, they are:

The Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, since 1981, in this period Malaysia has been sustained economic growth, and improved social and infrastructural facilities (said Asian miracle) due to the industrialization and globalization process, and the society undergoing rapid urbanization and modernization, due to this reason increase the gap between the rich and poor. So the poor continue their support to PAS, and also the PAS leaders were free from ostentation and corruption, support for democracy, justice and good governance.

The internal leadership crisis between the UMNO members and Anwar Ibrahim, he was Minister of Finance at the time and he was dismissed by Dr. Mahathir, because of his incapability of capital control when the financial crisis hit in Malaysia in 1997. Then he launched the reformasi and joined the PKR lead by his wife.

Finally the leaders of PAS, DAP and PKR signed the Common Manifesto of the Alternative Front (AF). The common manifesto has six plans and programs includes, strengthen economy and dynamic economic growth, transparency and accountability, social welfare, national solidarity and national sovereignty and international relation.

Abdul Hadi Awang was replaced of Fadzil Noor in 2002, under his leadership PAS was faced the general election in 2004 through the Alternative Front in cooperate with the DAP and PKR, but in this election PAS lost many state and parliamentary seats and DAD replaced leader as the opposition leader in the parliament. Because lost of the middle class support, due to the issue of Islamic state policy, which was, the Lim Kit Siang leader of DAP was explained about the purposes of the coming-together of DAP, PAS and PKR are not to establish and Islamic state, but to restore justice, freedom, democracy and good governance.

But in the 2008 general election, the three opposition parties like PAS, DAP and PKR again won more state and parliamentary seats similar to 1999 general election, they gain the support from the rural Malays and non-Muslim Malays. PAS together with DAP and PKP formed the state governments of Penang, Perak and Selangor.

In the 2008 general election, the BN won a majority of seats, and Abdullah Ahmad Badwai became as Prime Minister. He stepped down during the UMNO General Assembly on April 2009; he was succeeded by Najib Tun Razak as Prime Minister. He took some immediate actions, first, removed the bans on two opposition newspapers, own by PKR and PAS. Second, the release of 13 people held under the Internal Security Act including eight Islamic militants.

1Malaysia is an on-going campaign introduced by Prime Minister Najib Razak, calling for the cabinet, government agencies, and civil servants to emphasize ethnic harmony, national unity, and efficient governance. The eight values of 1Malaysia are perseverance, a culture of excellence, acceptance, loyalty, education, humility, integrity, and meritocracy.

According to the Prime Minister Mahathir statement that Malaysia was already an Islamic state, because UMNO was already implement Shariah as a state low. But the PAS president Mustapha Ali replied that the only thing Islamic about Malaysia now is there are mosques and there are Muslim here, that does not qualify us to call ourselves an Islamic state. Further more Malaysia does not implement in total the Shariah including the Islamic criminal laws, so Malaysia is not an Islamic state.

Dr.Mahathir had maintained that Malaysia will not become an Islamic state because any attempts to enforce Islamic laws where the non-Muslims from the majority would create problems.

Ibrahim Abu Bakar conclude that, the political reality in Malaysia will not lead PAS to achieve its stated goals since its Islamic state has been rejected by DAP and other Malaysian voters in other political parties. Moreover, PAS has never contested in all parliamentary seats in Malaysia in order to win the majority seats in Malaysian parliaments. Therefore, PAS will never rule Malaysia through the democratic system in Malaysia and therefore PAS will never succeed to establish Islamic state in Malaysia.

References

Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid (2007), Islam and Violence in Malaysia, Working Paper Series No. 123, Singapore: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid (2008), The Islamic Opposition in Malaysia: New Trajectories and Directions?, Working Paper Series No. 151, Singapore: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University. Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid, THE NEW CHALLENGES OF POLITICAL ISLAM IN MALAYSIA, Working Paper No.154, June 2009. Funston. NJ, The Origins of Parti Islam Se Malaysia Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, 1976 Vol.7 PT1 March pp 58-73. Ibrahhim Abu Bakar, PAS and Its Islamist Fundamentalism in Malaysia, Department of Theology and Philosophy-Faculty of Islamic Studies-National University of Malaysia Joseph Liow, Deconstructing Political Islam in Malaysia: UMNOS Response To PAS Religio-Political Dialectic, Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies Singapore, March 2003.

Annexure I Government Edition 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Year 1959 1964 1969 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1995 1999 2004 2008 Seats 74 89 95 135 130 132 148 127 162 148 198 140 % seats 71.15 85.58 65.97 87.66 84.42 85.71 83.62 70.55 84.38 76.68 90.41 62.61 % vote 51.7 58.5 49.3 60.7 57.2 60.5 55.8 53.4 65.2 56.5 63.9 52.2 Seats 30 15 49 19 24 22 29 53 30 45 21 82 Opposition % seats 28.85 14.42 34.03 12.34 15.58 14.29 16.38 29.45 15.62 23.32 9.59 36.93 % vote 48.3 41.5 50.7 39.3 42.8 39.5 41.5 46.6 34.8 43.5 36.1 47.8 Total seats 104 104 144 154 154 154 177 180 192 193 219 222