The statement by PAS president Fadzil Noor that "BN's victory is a victory of money politics and of blackmail" underscores Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's statement that PAS never blamed itself.

Why did Barisan Nasional's same strategy of money politics and blackmail succeed in Indera Kayangan but fail in Lunas by-election?

We can only infer that the difference in Lunas and Indera Kayangan is the dastardly Sept 11 attacks that brought so vividly home the images of terror through repeated television news clips.

Although PAS and its leaders are not, by any measure as extreme as the Taliban, they are however perceived to be just as conservative in morality and religion. For example, the party leaders have blamed rapes and social crimes on women for wearing revealing clothing, called for separate sex queues in supermarkets, closure of Genting casino and a ban on gaming and alcohol stocks in EPF's investments and its aspirations to establish the Islamic state.

If Indera Kayangan's voters were influenced by RTM's propaganda of televised 90-second video clip showing opposition leaders alongside slow-motion footage of a kneeling, burqa-clad woman being executed by a turbaned gunman in Afghanistan, it was because PAS itself had earlier reinforced this imagery of extremism by sympathising with the Taliban's cause, as for examples, calling for jihad and organising demonstrations in front of the American Embassy.

What is telling is that the opposition lost Malay ground Keadilan pulls in more Chinese votes, but loses Malay ground (Jan 20) with the BN's victory extending to PAS' stronghold of Sebarang Bakau, constituting of 92.62 percent Malays, and which the opposition had never lost in past elections ( Sunday Star , Jan 20)

If Keadilan indeed won more votes from Chinese Malaysian voters, it was not because the latter were less anxious about the issue of Islamic state post-Sept 11 but that they were more anxious about the fate of Chinese education as raised by prominent Chinese educationists and groups such as the SJK(C) Damansara Save Our School (SOS) Committee fighting on the side of Keadilan against the MCA.

Had it not been for Sept 11, Keadilan might well have even more Chinese Malaysian votes by reason of the Chinese education issue.

As I have said earlier, the moment BN could successfully define Indera Kayangan by-elections as a contest between religious extremist order of PAS with Keadilan as proxy and that moderate government of BN, the opposition would be routed, given BN's well-oiled election machinery and financial resources ( PAS has fallen into BN's trap , Jan 11).

It did not help that PAS also began branding Umno as the "Northern Alliance" in response to Umno's caricature of it as "Taliban". DAP's departure from BA over that issue as well as subsequent abstinence from campaigning added to the opposition's problems.

No one would interpret DAP's stand as being based on anything other than principle because based on its record, it has been the most consistent strident voice opposing the BN for the last 20 years.

If Malays in a mixed constituency find PAS' politics too radical, it is even more so for non-Malays. BN's thumping victory in Indera Kayangan strongly suggests a rejection of PAS' politics by mainstream Malaysians that ironically became a trump card for BN.

Keadilan cannot lead a truly viable opposition coalition if it refuses to sever ties with PAS because of its controversial agenda. Its high-faluting rhetoric on democracy and social justice will come to nought when it continues to support and depend on PAS.

If mainstream reports are to be believed, Keadilan has also compromised on its credibility when it condemned the racial policies of Umno to non-Malay voters while telling Malay voters not to vote for BN's Oui Ah Lan because she was Chinese, but it was alright to vote for Khoo Yang Chong because he's Keadilan.

Keadilan will pay a price for such inconsistency because by saying different things to different groups and communities, no one is certain where the party stands in the end.

Take, for example, PAS' objective of the Islamic state that caused DAP to leave BA. Even now, Keadilan prevaricates, dodges, sidetracks, hems and haws rather than unequivocally supports or repudiates it.

This is a pity because Keadilan with DAP but without PAS would represent the most acceptable alternative for mainstream Malaysians in the quest for democracy, good governance and social justice.

PAS, with its unique platform, could carry its own weight to garner for their voter support even without alliance with any other party.