The articles by Wan Saiful Wab Jan entiled PAS and the public perception and PAS: Election above all else , deserve some comments. I agree with most of the contents of the articles, but, I take the liberty to differ with the writer on two points.
Firstly, PAS, I believe, is and should be an Islamic movement forever whatever appearance it may take. There should be no such moment in its history for PAS to make a choice between to be an Islamic movement or a political party.
As a political party with Islam at its core, PAS remains a part of the Islamic movement in Malaysia (and in the world). The same is true with Abim, JIM or the Tabligh; they are parts of Islamic movement in this country.
I believe they all are in agreement as to the necessity of the implementation of the shariah, but their emphasis and methods may be different from each another's. I would rather like to see them as complementary to each other in their common struggle.
Secondly, the recent change in the PAS leadership is not merely a repackaging exercise. Members of the party that decided to make the change were aware of what direction the party should take. They took cognisance of the backgrounds of those they chose to lead the party.
It may be true that some of the new faces in the leadership have had doubtful attitudes toward PAS in their early lives. But one should not be judged merely on his past history. His current commitment and potential contributions should be taken into consideration.
After all, if Umar al-Khattab is to be judged on his past, he would never be among the most trustworthy companions of the Prophet (pbuh).
Finally, with PAS as an Islamic movement, I would like to see its leaders and members not regard elections as an objective in itself. The election is no more than a means to achieve a broader and higher objective through the democratic process; that is to gain power in order to implement the shariah.
On this score, failure in an election, although undesirable in itself, should not be considered as the end of the world. After all, campaigning exercises including 'ceramah' sessions are but a part of dakwah .
If PAS fails to win an election, it can still fulfill its obligation to explain Islamic teachings to the public, especially those that relate to politics and government. In my opinion, the grand failure of PAS in 2004 general election, especially in Terengganu, was not due to the public's rejection of its policies, including the Islamic state document.
Rather, it was due to foul play by the Barisan Nasional and the ruling government. The general election failure of 2004 should not be used as a yardstick to gauge the electorates' acceptance or rejection of PAS policies.
This, however, should not be taken that everything is fine with PAS' policies and strategies. While nothing is wrong with the Islamic state policy, the Islamic state document seems to have been composed in a hurry and without proper consultations.
The same could be said with regard to the hudud law. In this new millennium, it needs great courage on the part of PAS leadership, especially its ulama, to be engaged in new ijtihad in order to produce new sets of laws including hudud capable of being implemented.
It is no longer enough just to incorporate and amalgamate opinions of the medieval jurists, (however great they were), as written in their books, into new laws. After all, the science of Islamic jurisprudence (Usul al-fiqh) is not to be used solely as a justification for those medieval opinions.
It should be rather used in order to understand them and to strive for new opinions and judgments compatible with new situations and circumstances. On the other hand, everyone knows that under current situations and regulations, PAS' ability to explain its policies to the public is very limited.
But PAS should not succumb to such restrictions. It should strive to find new avenues and means to make its policies understandable and acceptable to the public. I am convinced that once the electorate understands PAS' policies, including those relating to the Islamic state and hudud, its noble objective of securing the implementation of shariah would be achieved by the grace of Allah.
