I still remember the days in the late 1980s when I was in Sekolah Alam Shah, Kuala Lumpur. As a teenager eager to learn more about Islam, I became acquainted with the tabligh group. I once went to this huge gathering in Dengkil and I have also helped with the building of the tabligh mosque in Seri Petaling.

I can't remember how many times I have stood up to give the talk about the "six points of tabligh" but I still remember how I trembled on the very first time I stood up to speak. But, despite the regular "going out for three days" and the frequent visits to Masjid India, I felt that there was something missing in the tabligh movement.

I explored Al-Arqam too, but, I must admit, the serban put me off a bit. I did like wearing it when I was at Alam Shah, but it was the thickness of the ones worn by Arqam followers that put me off. Yes. I know. It was a petty excuse. But I was only 16 at that time.

And then, one day when I was in Form 4, I bought my first copy of Harakah from a stand in Puduraya The journey into PAS started on that very day.

Reading books by the likes of Hassan Al-Banna, Syed Qutb, Fathi Yakan, and supplemented by the regular copies of Harakah , I began to realise that the ultimate aim of any Muslim should be to see the re-establishment of the Islamic State.

In the context of Malaysia, no other group can lead the effort to re-establish Islam as deen (way of life) and daulah (state) but PAS. And I first became more seriously involved in PAS in the early 1990s, for two very simple reasons.

Firstly is my belief that as a Muslim, the establishment of Islamic Syariah must be my ultimate ambition. While in Makkah, Muhammad (s.a.w) worked to strengthen his companion's aqidah (conviction), and this culminated with the hijrah (migration) to Madinah, in which the Islamic state was established.

All the work in Makkah was a precursor to the setting up of an Islamic state. Thus, by implication, for any Muslim, whatever they do, it must act as a precursor to the establishment of the Islamic state. Islamic state and Islamic khilafah must remain the ultimate dream of any Muslim.

Secondly, I believe that the effort to set up the Islamic state and khilafah cannot be done alone. The only way to do it is to work in a team (jama'ah). Since the work to re-establish the Islamic state is obligatory, I found that Islam gave guidance to its followers as to what type of group can be called the Harakah Islamiyyah - the Islamic movement or the group to which Muslims must sign up if they are serious about the Islamic state agenda.

There are certain criteria for an Islamic movement. Having looked at the likes of Abim, JIM, Tabligh and Al-Arqam, I discovered that in Malaysia only PAS fulfils these criteria. The others are simply Islamic groups, not an Islamic movement.

The logic was (and still is) simple. If you are serious about wanting to work for Islam, then your ultimate aim must be the re-establishment of the Islamic way of life via the Islamic state. This was what the Prophet showed us. And if you want to do that in Malaysia, it is a religious obligation to be part of PAS, since it is the only Islamic movement in Malaysia. Period.

PAS then and now

I then started becoming more active from 1993. Since then, I have been increasingly exposed to PAS and a bit of its internal workings. I came to know several of its top leaders and I personally saw how they are truly committed to the struggle of PAS. To me, PAS is an Islamic movement using democracy as a tool to achieve the ultimate aim - the Islamic state.

But, as time passes by, I find it more and more difficult to answer the question "What is PAS?". Lately, it has not been as easy to answer the question "Is PAS an Islamic movement or a political party?"

And, increasingly it is also becoming rather apparent that in its current state, 'PAS the political party' is not exactly similar to 'PAS the Islamic movement' I initially joined.

My main concern is, is it really possible for PAS to balance the demands of being a political party with the demands of being an Islamic movement? Or is there a risk that in striving to become a mainstream party accepted by the majority, the Islamic movement elements will eventually become subservient to the political nature of PAS?

A political party's task is simple and straightforward. They need to win votes. Success or failure of a political party is measured by the number of seats that it can win. And the best position to garner the maximum number of votes is in the centre.

The British Labour party did a successful repositioning in the mid 1990s when they shifted from the left towards the centre. Whether Labour is a centre left or a centre right is debatable but they are no longer the left wing party of yester-years. By repositioning and continuously reinforcing itself in the centre ground, Labour has won three consecutive general elections.

The British Conservatives, a traditionally centre right party, on the other hand, is still struggling to define itself. In its current leadership debate, one camp appeals to the right of the party, while the other camp steers more to the left. Some say that recent events have forced the Conservatives further to the right than ever. Despite the continuing internal debates, the Conservatives too accepts that repositioning is necessary if they were to become government.

As a political party, PAS needs to learn from the experience of both Labour and Conservatives. PAS does not need a 're-packaging' for 're-packaging' merely means the same material with new wrapping paper.

The call for PAS to 're-package' itself is a call for disaster. If PAS continue to 're-package' its messages - i.e. push forward the same message albeit in a different way or by different faces - then the electorates will clearly see that PAS, in whatever shape or form, will still represent the same ideas they rejected in 2003.

If PAS is serious about wresting power from the Barisan Nasional, there needs to be a serious re-thinking of what PAS really is. The party and its message need to be properly defined. A total re-think and re-articulation of PAS' mission is imperative. Not just 're-packaging'.

Mere 're-packaging' is a ruinous call. It is faked change.

To win elections, what PAS the political party need is real change. It is now clear that PAS cannot win big in elections unless the country is in political turmoil. The 1999 success - if 27 seats out of almost 200 is worthy of being called a success - was not because PAS was strong. It was because Anwar was falsely accused of sodomy, and even that only resulted in 27 seats.

Unless several more big sharks in BN were accused of sodomy by their leader again, or a miraculous help comes from Allah, I doubt if PAS would actually ever win the national government if 'change' only means the current message being presented by a bunch of younger or friendlier faces clad in three-piece suits - the so-called re-packaging exercise.

Change to what?

Perhaps the last muktamar (general assembly) is a testament of how badly PAS members want change. The problem is, although everybody seems to want to change, has anybody asked "change to become what?" What is this new, changed PAS going to look like? What is the 'changed PAS' suppose to represent?

If 'change' simply implies the same politics and ideologies being presented by a different set of people - by those wearing three-piece suits and songkok rather jubah and ketayap - then is that really 'change'?

PAS has to realise that what the Malaysian public has rejected so far is not the attire or who's who in PAS per se. It is the policies that are being questioned. Without a serious rethink about policies, it is unlikely the public's perception towards PAS will vary.

Unfortunately, despite new faces taking up posts, PAS is still adamant that there will be no policy change.

For a political party, what is the point of changing anything if the policies rejected by the electorate remain the same? This is what I want to know.

Tomorrow: Elections above all else

WAN SAIFUL WAN JAN is currently conducting research in business ethics, with a particular focus on corporate social responsibility, at Middlesex University Business School, London. He was educated at Sekolah Alam Shah in Cheras and Tonbridge School in England before moving on to the University of Liverpool and Northumbria University.