Last week’s debate on the floor of Indera Melia Stadium in Ipoh points to the deep soul-searching that PAS is undergoing as it moves from a parochial to a national party.

The growing pains within the party are not unexpected. Every Islamist party faces the challenge of moderation, the challenge of reflecting a national constituency of supporters seeking inclusive better governance rather than a narrow band of advocates pushing for an exclusionary religious theocracy.

Yet, the transformation for PAS is deeper than redefining its ideological core. It involves restructuring the decision-making process within the party, curbing personal infighting and ambition and moving mindsets away from the racial and patronage hand-out frameworks that unfortunately continue to dominate Malaysian politics. These different outlooks place immense strain on the party internally and limit its ability to be an effective national player in politics.