Not too long ago while in Kuala Terengganu, I observed to an angler that it was rare to see women take up the laidback sport of recreational fishing. Walk along the beach and you'd see altogether only the men blissfully casting their lines into the water.

Predictably, the angler replied that a woman's place was in the home. To that, I pointed out the fact of women today engaging in rough-and-tough careers like those in the police force and army, or taking part in extreme sports. " Itu semua perempuan jahat "(Those are bad women), was his rejoinder.

If the man had been a PAS leader whose remarks were carried in the Cronesian media, he'd have a score of based-in-KL women's groups braying for his blood. He'd also have a horde of spin doctors playing up the Islamic fundamentalist 'fear factor' - for the benefit of their political masters the Barisan Nasional (BN) - all pushing the sub-text: 'Are you scared yet?'

But the man was no politician, only your regular Joe satisfied with PAS' governance of his state. Looking out to the awesome but serene seascape before us, I had an inkling as to why one would not care to swap his simple, God-fearing life for the perceived impiety in the Umno-controlled states.

Take for example, Selangor, the most developed state on the west coast, which has a hallowed tradition. Its Umno chief ministers have been jailed for corruption (Harun Idris), stopped by Australian Customs for carrying millions in cash in a suitcase (Muhammad Muhd Taib, [later cleared by a court]) and accused by the opposition of abuse of power for financial gain (Dr Mohd Khir Toyo).

East-west divide

As I was chatting with a friend who was born and bred in Terengganu, the topic naturally turned to the subject of petroleum royalties. Shortly after PAS formed the state government in 1999, Petronas ceased to pay the royalties which it had previously done under contract between the oil company and the state. The case is still before the courts.

My friend assured me that despite the PAS-administered state being deprived of its much-needed oil revenue, life is better than before.

Why would men prefer to stay in such a poor state whose rightful share to federal largesse is being withheld? And why would women, who are deemed 'the second sex', want to uphold such a parochial and staunch patriarchy?

My friend's reason: Everything is run with more transparency now and there is less of the palm-greasing of old.

I believe he and Terengganu's like-minded grassroots are willing to cast a vote for change and dig in their heels under the ever-present shadow of federal 'punishment' because they are less materialistic than their west coast cousins - beneficiaries of the Cronesian way of doing things.

Another newsflash: PAS did not win their seats on the votes of men alone. My women relatives from Kota Baru have great reverence for PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat and are party supporters too.

The untold story

I'm not writing this to present my own miniscule straw poll but am just attempting to counter the Cronesian media's deliberate under-estimation of popular support for the opposition. Admittedly, what I've related is merely a sliver of anecdotal evidence but see if my prognosis is not borne out by the PAS incumbents being returned.

Someone obtaining his news solely from the Cronesian media - which has a monopoly on information channels - may not get a full picture of the east coast.

The media's biased 'reporting' has become the basis of erroneous public impression. This black propaganda works wonders with west coasters for whom the region east of the Titiwangsa range is alien terrain on which they have neither intention nor inclination to set foot.

The only facets of life there guaranteed a media airing are the gender-separate queues in Kelantan supermarkets, the tudung dress code and other legislation conforming to Islamic values. The blitzkrieg of negative spin is calculated to impress upon urban, non-Malay voters that the PAS state governments are the epitome of intolerance - that their heads are nothing more than long-robed, turbaned mullahs promoting a backward theocracy.

What the Cronesian media fails to mention is that these PAS menteris besar are by far more popular with their constituents than those in BN-held states. Nik Aziz and Terengganu's Abdul Hadi Awang can pull in the crowds in five figures whereas with BN's Crowds 'r' Us , there could arise typographical errors in news reports of one, two, or maybe even three zeroes behind the number actually present.

Like chalk and cheese

Why are the PAS top leaders closer to the people's hearts?

I don't claim a personal acquaintance with the Kelantan leader but I can tell you he is so soft-spoken that if you're face to face with him, you'd still have to strain your ears to hear his words. Compare that with your standard loud and overbearing Barisan Man, like say ole ole Samy.

Plus, there is more chance of a snowflake freezing in hell than catching Nik Aziz doing an Adnan Yaakob - a Pahang menteri besar who was famously caught on camera giving the finger during a previous by-election nomination day.

At public functions, the Umno hotshots muscle about in a posse of noisy police outriders, aide-de-camps and bodyguards whereas the small Nik Aziz entourage usually makes its way through a hushed and respectful crowd.

You could pick up a telephone and call Nik Aziz at home, and he'd give you the time of day. The Kelantanese would proudly point out to visitors his humble abode (so unlike a big time politico's residence) and the fact that he's accessible - holding religious classes for the common folk.

And if you think that the BN bigwigs seem to have forgotten they are government servants to serve the public, and not the other way around, Nik Aziz's supporters will willingly tell you that he's a servant of Allah.

Can we similarly say that humility is a watchword with our present and past BN leaders? If you will recall the demeanour of our ex-PM, which we are all too familiar with through 22 years of media saturation coverage ... res ipsa loquitur (the matter speaks for itself).

Smear campaign

Nik Aziz is the favourite whipping boy of the Cronesian media, especially the English-language papers for his several public relations faux pas . Environmentalists were disappointed that he suggested shooting some marauding tigers, socialists none too happy about his recent comments on Keadilan deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali, and with women's groups, well, it's always open season on the Tok Guru.

In the eyes of his detractors, Nik Aziz embodies the conservative cleric who curtails women's rights and liberties. Granted that he has made some controversial statements, such as discouraging the use of lipstick as well as the employment of pretty women in the Kelantan civil service.

Yet I would like to point out that the multiple-term menteri besar has been given an overwhelming mandate to speak for his orthodox constituents.

That said, the Cronesian media has not accorded Nik Aziz and the office he holds the respect due. In a very obvious display of double standards, the same artillery barrage is never trained on BN leaders who have made far more provocative remarks.

Take Mahathir who gained international notoriety for his Jew, European and Chinese-bashing. Has there even been a squeak of criticism locally at the same time that he was being castigated around the world? Noooo. The Cronesian media simply assumes its long-standing role of the PM's cheerleading squad. ( See footnote )

On the other hand, Nik Aziz's statements are blown out of proportion, distorted and taken out of context. A blatant slur was the ' Tuhan itu samseng ' (God is a gangster) description widely attributed to him to tarnish his reputation.

Who is militant?

The strategy of the Cronesian media falls within the Law of the Excluded Middle, i.e. the paradigm allowing no room for a middle ground. By demonising PAS as Islamic extremists, they are trying to paint Umno as Islamic moderates. Oh really?

If Umno is the less militant, why is their party logo the unsheathed keris ? On the other hand, the PAS logo is a benign full moon.

To refresh our collective memory, take the two fairly recent instances where the Umno-led city and municipal councils attempted to bulldoze through restrictive rulings, based on their own interpretation of Islamic mores.

Didn't the Ipoh city council issue summonses to couples holding hands in public as plentifully as a slimming centre distributes brochures?

Then there were the Johor Baru, Subang Jaya and apparently Shah Alam councils which attempted to tighten the leash on dog ownership. Upon purely secular and neighbourly considerations? Yeah, woof.

Who is moderate?

I can recall other examples of PAS progressiveness, relative to Umno, of course. Remember when Umno was calling for 'Malay unity' talks? What the MCA media mouthpieces pointedly did not bring up was the all-important question: 'Who is it that the Malays are supposed to unite against?'

PAS scored a tactical victory when it rebuffed Umno's overtures by stating if there should be unity talks, then it was rightly Malaysian unity that needed discussion. PAS, at least, is moving away from politics drawn along communal lines.

Another example pertains to a Mingguan Malaysia interview with the late PAS president Fadzil Noor, where the reporter was trying to get Fadzil to commit his party to Malay special rights.

Despite several leading questions to steer him in that direction, Fadzil refused to take the bait.

Here it could be argued that should PAS come to power, the national dichotomy would not be between Malays and the Others but between Muslims and the Others. And the naysayers might also point out the areas where PAS zealots have tried to cast the population at large in their own Islamic mould.

I'm just going to say, Umno is no better in these respects.

Smoke and mirrors

In the race towards Islamicisation, let's not blame PAS for upping the ante. The reality is that Umno, as the absolute power, has been the side responsible for allowing the Islamic outlook to creep into national schools, public universities and government departments.

While PAS has been consistently preaching its Islamic agenda from the day of its inception, it's Umno which appears to have changed horses mid-stream and is now trying to out-Islamicise its rival. It was the former Umno president, as PM, who on September 2001 unilaterally declared the country to be an Islamic state [sic] .

Yet the BN is the very one promoting the spurious argument of voting to maintain the status quo - 'Yo, you want to be able to drink, gamble and dress skimpily, doncha?'

Personally, I think the BN is grossly insulting the non-Malay electorate by implying that drinking and gambling are the preserve of non-Muslims. That wearing a mini-skirt equates possessing civil liberties. And that the right to practise these 'vices' are at the top of the voters' agenda.

Ironically, it is in the East Coast that the BN's contemptible modus operandi of racial divide-and-rule cuts no ice because non-Malays there are a negligible minority (who speak fluent Malay to boot). Nor can their other election cheap trick - the Islamic fundamentalist bogey - be trotted out.

Even if you fear a theocratic state, as I do, never be fooled by Cronesian dis-information about Umno not taking us in that direction. We're already halfway there. The PAS green wave may wash us out to the deep blue sea, but is the arrogant devil we're utterly sick of really the safer alternative?

Z SUNDAY is a Joe Public who reads the local print media for its unfunny and unintentional imitation of black and gallows humour. The truth may be out there but he doesn't expect to extract it from the Malaysia Boleh chaff in local newspapers.

For this article, he also referred to:

* The Star (Oct 21, 2003) under the headline 'Jewish lobby does rule the US', which reads: 'Now, really, which of these (Mahathir's allegations) are untrue? Just take the Jewish (sic)-rule-the-world by proxy comment. Why the uproar about it? Isn't this a known fact? The difference perhaps is that others have not expressed it in such blatant terms as the plain-speaking Malaysian Prime Minister.'

* Berita Harian , Oct 20, 2003 under the translated headline 'West is increasingly in fear of Dr M changing the Islamic world'. It reads: "Everyone knows that the Jews are all powerful. Even though they are small in number in the US, they have managed to control almost all the fields of economy, finance, business, social [sic], education, politics and defence in that country. The Jews have a thorough influence.'