A brief comparison of how the memorandum and the 'dokumen' ( Dokumen Negara Islam that was launched on Nov 12) handled the issues of democracy, syariah and the "bill of guarantees" would reveal the ideological differences in PAS.

The memorandum sets itself in the context of democracy in 21st century. It is about searching for a way to ensure Islamic rule flourishes together with democracy and humanism. Terms like civil society, equality, welfare state, meritocracy informed the thinking of its authors.

Further, the audience of the blueprint is the rakyat. Its language reveals an acute awareness that PAS' electoral fate is in the hands of the voters.

Democracy has a very different place in the dokumen. It is doubtful whether it still has one. The only occurrence of the word 'democracy' is at Clause 4 of Preamble when it says PAS has been consistent in the observation and practice of parliamentary democracy.

Closest to democracy is the concept of syura. But "where there exists clear injunctions and verses pertaining to the issue, no 'ijtihad' (individual interpretation and judgment) is required except as to conduct syura in matters that relate to its implementation within a certain context."

It is also interesting to note that the Malay version of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang's speech at the launch had this to say: " Kita telah mencuba pakai pendekatan Barat atas nama demokrasi, kapitalisme, pragmatisme, leberisme (sic) dan sebagainaya. "

The dokumen is decidedly paternalistic and authoritarian. Its characteristics include "the religion that is obeyed", "obedience to the state" and "duty-bound". "The citizens are expected to render their obedience and trust to the leadership of the country for as long as they obey Allah." This is not the idiom of democracy.

Syariah

Syariah is an area where the two blueprints are most at odds. The bottom line of PAS is that Syariah has to be the source that informs all laws. (What this means is a separate issue.) This line of thought has been with PAS since its early years. However, anything beyond this basic stand is a matter of contention.

The memorandum understands the complexity of a multiethnic, multi-cultural, multi-religion society, and stresses that Syariah is not to be implemented at the expense of "peace, harmony and prosperity" in the society.

It suggests that Syariah has to be realised gradually ( pendekatan bertahap/tadarruj ) and priority should be given to educating the society to understand the rationale behind Syariah legislations.

Above all, the ultimate distinction of the memorandum is that the word hudud (Islam penal code) is not mention at all. While the call for Syariah to be the source of laws is born with PAS, the notion that hudud is the defining feature of Syariah arrived in the discourse rather late, and may not have the intra-party unanimous agreement.

In the memorandum, Syariah is a constituting part of the Islamic democracy designed to be compatible with contemporary Malaysia. It is time- and place-specific.

The exclusion of hudud reflects the thinking of former PAS president, the late Fadzil Noor, who argued: "The concept of an Islamic state is wide and not just based on the hudud law." He saw Syariah as a set of universal ethics for better governance, i.e. good governance, no corruption, no discrimination and etc.

However, Syariah defines the Islamic state in the dokumen. The state is Syariah state and hudud is an unquestionable truth derived divinely. "Any contention in this regards, amounts to contesting the divine wisdom". It is a legalistic-literalist interpretation of Islamic texts. The state stipulated by the dokumen is an eternal affair that is only answerable to the God. There is no attempt to make it compatible with any "man-made" system.

'Bill of guarantees'

The memorandum is keenly aware of sensitivities associated with Malaysia's communal society. It acknowledges that "the language and phrases used [in the memorandum] could be taken as providing an 'exclusivist' perception and considered as sidelining the non-Muslims." . "Herein lies the difficulty and risk" of such an endeavor of writing an Islamic state.

The entire paper is sensitive towards the needs of non-Muslims, as well as Muslims who are yet to be persuaded by PAS. Throughout the passages, it aims to convey the message that the rights of all would be protected.

Not so for the dokumen. Abdul Hadi's speech at the launch contains a list of 10 "guarantees" ( jaminan ) targeting non-Muslims. These are:

  1. the Islamic state accepts and implements ( menerima pakai ) the Federal Constitution with amendments
  2. guarantee of religious freedom
  3. guarantee of rights to cultural expression
  4. no compulsion in matter of conversion to Islam
  5. dualism of law would be maintained
  6. no discrimination based on race, origin and gender. Meritocracy is emphasised
  7. the democratic rights of each individual citizen, as stipulated in the Federal Constitution, are guaranteed
  8. every ethnic grouping regardless of ethnicity is entitle to be elected and involved in the political process, judiciary and administration
  9. the right to education and mother-tongue education
  10. the rights of women in regard to education, work, as well as the right to dignity and self-worth.

But the reason why these jaminan are in Abdul Hadi's speech is simply because they are not in the dokumen proper.

Abdul Hadi's English speech touches on this: "I am quite sure that you are well aware that my short deliberation is targeted to tackle unresolved burning issues that may have not been dealt with in great detail in the document." (This awareness is less obvious in the Malay original text.)

His speech and the bill of jaminan is a welcoming sign that there are at least some sensitivity towards the non-Muslim population, whom made up about 40 percent of the population. The fact remains that the dokumen proper shows no interest in the non-Muslims, or for that matter, Muslim non-PAS believers. It sets itself as an edict to erect a caliphate, not as a political manifesto for the next election.

With hindsight after reading a report in malaysiakini , the bill of guarantees is a compromise reached after several central committee members "came down hard" on the senior ulama leaders that the dokumen must be accompanied with an explanation note during the launch. (An explanation note by Badruzaman Yusoff, the secretary of PAS' ulama wing, has shed light on the identities of the drafters. It is clear that non-religious educated party leaders are relegated to marginal roles in the drafting process of the dokumen.)

Fishing for votes?

Is the dokumen a tool for PAS to 'fish for votes' as accused by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi?

The authors of the dokumen might have thought that in order to challenge the Islamic credentials of Pak Lah, the party needs to be more Islamic in its rhetoric. To them, to be Islamic means to be legalistic and literalist. But, the supporters of PAS in its heartland may not be so concerned about a legalistic approach to Islam. They may be more concerned about candidates who are seen as close to the grassroots, pious and incorruptible. The long-term supporters of PAS would continue to support PAS whether or not it produces an Islamic state document.

The problem is that the memorandum is aimed to win the non-Muslims and urban Muslim while the dokumen is targeted at reinforcing the Muslim heartland, which are totally different and contradictory impulses.

The conflict within PAS is not between the ulama and the professional. Ulama like the late Fadzil and Nasharrudin understood that the long-term interest of PAS is to make friends and to maximise its appeals. The memorandum and the dokumen neatly symbolise the essence of the conflict within PAS-between those who pursue a 'mainstreaming' strategy and those who are ideological purists.

The former tries to reconcile diverse interests in the society in order to be a mainstream party, with the eventual goal of gaining national office. Those who stress on ideological pureness concentrate on the advocacy of the principles they deemed to be fundamental to the party, at the risk of hard feelings or even a rift. The mainstreaming strategists are characterised by an acute sensitivity towards the marginal voter while the purists operate on the principle that if the people refuse to share the grand vision, it is their problem.

While Fadzil saw the potential of transforming PAS into a nationally-relevant party that goes beyond the Malay-belt, Abdul Hadi's indulgence in federalism and the right of the state government to implement Syariah is indicative of his mindset, which only focuses on securing the traditional comfort zones in the Muslim heartland.

PAS' performance in the coming elections lies at the seats PAS won (or lost) marginally in the last election, mainly due to the Anwar Ibrahim factor. PAS tripled its parliamentary seats from seven in 1995 to 27 in 1999. Currently, it holds 26 seats after losing the Pendang by-election.

Unlike the seats in the Malay majority East Coast, many of these newly won seats are in the West Coast, including Kedah, where non-Muslim vote is a crucial factor.

Long-term consequence

In this regard, the dokumen is not helpful to the cause of PAS at all. It is rather unfortunate that the leaders who will be at receiving ends of any possible backlash caused by the dokumen are those who are most sensitive towards the multifaceted characteristics of Malaysia. They are those who drafted the defunct memorandum.

More than a decade ago, Prof KS Jomo and Shabery Chik argued that Abdul Hadi was more theological than political, who may be good at "deepening but not broadening" PAS' base. This remains true to this day.

The damage may have already been done. The long-term consequence of the rigidly written dokumen is that PAS may no longer rely on the flexibility of associating Islam state with whatever is seen as good by the voters.

The dokumen will affect PAS' relations with its partner in Barisan Alternatif, Parti Keadilan Rakyat. Further, despite the likelihood of closing ranks for the coming elections, the intra-party repercussions of the dokumen, which was apparently rushed through, would not simply end there.

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LIEW CHIN TONG is a research student at he Australian National University, Canberra.

Endnotes:

Hussin Mutalib (1993) Islam in Malaysia: From Revivalism to Islamic State?, Singapore UP, Singapore. p 100

Berita Minggu

(5/8/2001) "PAS gugur hasrat demi pakatan" p 12

NJ Funston (1980) Malay Politics in Malaysia: A Study of the United Malays National Organisation and Party Islam, Heinemann Educational Books, Kuala Lumpur. p 95

New Straits Times

(NST) (30/9/2001) "Dr M-PAS trying to create rift."

Bernama (13/10/2001) "No dialogue until PAS explains its concept of Islamic State"

NST

(17/10/2001) " Hadi: PAS to define Islamic State in memo to PM"

NST

(25/10/2001) "PAS to submit memo on concept by year-end"

NST

(20/12/2001) "PAS memo on Islamic State 'almost ready'; Malaysiakini (20/12/2001) "BA divided over PAS' Islamic State 'white paper'"

NST

(18/3/2002) "PAS to distribute draft of Islamic State" Ibid.

Fadzil Noor (2002) "Memantap Iltizam, Menyemarakkan Kebangkitan" (Rejuvenating the Commitment, Invigorating the Resurgence) Ucapan Dasar Presiden Muktamar ke-48

Panel Memorandum Negara Islam PAS (n.d.) Memorandum PAS kepada Rakyat Malaysia-Penghayatan Pemerintahan Islam Dalam Demokrasi Abad ke-15H/21M I have obtained a copy of this document from an NGO activist who is close to BA sources.

Harakah Daily

(14/9/2003) "Kandungan `blueprint' negara Islam tidak perlu didedahkan"

Harakah Daily

(13/10/2003) "Dokumen Negara Islam dilancar awal Ramadhan"

Harakah Daily

(22/10/2003) "Dokumen Negara Islam dilancar 17 Ramadhan"

Bernama

(30/9/2001) "Malaysia should be officially proclaimed as an Islamic State-Fadzil"

Berita Minggu

(5/8/2001) "PAS gugur hasrat demi pakatan" p. 12

PAS The Islamic State Document p. 21

Panel Memorandum Negara Islam PAS Memorandum p. 8

The following are based on my reading of Abdul Hadi's Malay speech with reference to the party's official English translation. Abdul Hadi Awang (2003) "Ucapan Sempena Majlis pelancaran Dokumen Negara Islam"; Abdul Hadi Awang (2003) "The Speech in conjunction with the launching of the Document of Islamic State"

"Kaum, keturunan dan jantina." See Abdul Hadi Awang "Ucapan Sempena Majlis pelancaran Dokumen Negara Islam." PAS' official English translation claims, "That there will not be discrimination based on religious, racial and gender." "Religion" is not in the Malay version.

Ustaz Badruzaman Yusoff (2003) "Penjelasan Dokumen Negara" Islam Harakah Daily http://www.harakahdaily.net/dokumen1.html

K.S. Jomo and Ahmad Shabery Cheek (1992) "Malaysia's Islamic Movements," in Fragmented Vision: Cultural and Politics in Contemporary Malaysia, ed. Joel S. Kahn and Francis Kok Wah Loh (North Sydney, NSW: Allen & Unwin). p. 101-2