PAS tried the gambit of bulldozing the passage of Terengganu Syariah Criminal Bill on hudud (Islamic penal code) and qisas (retribution/retaliation) with the full knowledge that the federal government will block it and also that the ruler will not grant assent to an unconstitutional move.

The value lies more in propaganda value to show that PAS' commitment to Islam is stronger than Umno's. It does not even heed reservations of its partners within Barisan Alternatif (BA), much less objections of non-governmental organisations, women's and other interest groups.

Terengganu Mentri Besar Abdul Hadi Awang has publicly stated that hudud and qisas would in due course be extended to cover non-Muslims as well. According to Hassan Mohd Salleh (PAS-Bukit Payung), the Quran and not the Constitution drafted by Christian Lord Reid ought to be supreme law of the land.

This is blatant flouting of the understanding reached between all communities as enshrined in the 1957 Federal Constitution and the first tentative steps to roll on an Islamic revolution as that which happened in Ayatholla Komeini's Iran, albeit in PAS' case, still within parameters of Malaysian laws (Pages 1 and 4 of The Star , July 9).

This unravelling of PAS' pretensions to respect religious and cultural rights of non-Muslim communities, and its naked usurpation of constitutional supremacy is bound to further alienate moderate Muslims and non-Muslims who now have no choice but to either support the moribund Barisan Nasional or at least to withdraw their support of the PAS-led BA.

DAP is opposed to PAS' Islamic State concept and had already withdrawn from BA. Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) president Dr Syed Husin Ali, at his party's 35th National Congress, also took a position against it.

This implies that the only thing standing between an immediate dissociation of BA from PAS is the prevarication of Keadilan: its deputy Youth chief Saifuddin Nasution Ismail recently criticised DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang and his deputy Karpal Singh for making public statements against PAS' and BA's apparent acquiescence over its retrogressive policies ( Stop putting opposition in bad light , Keadilan tells DAP , July 8).

Keadilan's reliance on PAS' crutches is therefore the main obstacle to a viable Opposition Front [minus PAS] that is acceptable to mainstream Malaysia in the next as well as succeeding general elections.

The Barisan Nasional is absolutely counting on Keadilan's continued parasitic dependence on PAS' political leverage among Malay Muslim constituencies to prevent the emergence of a viable opposition front in collaboration with DAP and PRM only.

The one that holds the key is therefore Keadilan's de facto leader ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim. Surely he must realise where his political redemption lies.

PAS has so far been able to capitalise on the government's controversial prosecution of Anwar to galvanise Malay Muslim support to its own advantage in capturing Kelantan, Terengganu and possibly the other Northern states in time to come.

PAS has set a target to displace Umno directly and considers Keadilan as mere ancillary appendage of little political weight that may be advantageous to have as a political ally but if not, is completely dispensable.

PAS is now able to thumb its nose at everyone because of it is certain of Malay Muslims' reluctance to openly resist its policies regardless how intemperate, as long as it is under the banner of God and religion. How the majority will vote, remains to be seen in the elections to come.

When Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad concedes that "we do not reject Allah's hudud laws but we reject PAS law" (Page 3 of The Star July 9), PAS knows that it has already cornered Umno into a tight no-win spot.

For what are Mahathir's credentials — compared to Hadi's — to say that PAS' hudud is not Allah's laws but PAS' when the entire Islamic world spanning the entire Middle East has for the last 15 centuries deemed it otherwise?

Of greater importance is the fact that Umno's own rank and file members and the entire civil service among whom the PM has instilled religiosity by his policies will find it hard themselves to believe the PM's avant-garde interpretation that hudud is not Allah's law.

Although PAS proclaims that it will make Anwar the prime minister, when it forms the government, Anwar will at best serve only as its nominal puppet. At worst, he is a threat to be excluded from the power structure altogether. If Anwar still relies on playing the Islamic card as a platform to power, he must surely realise that that platform has long been taken over by PAS' leaders who have better Islamic scholastic credentials.

Whichever way the Federal Court decides on Anwar's appeals against his convictions on corrupt practices or sodomy, Umno leaders will have no inclination to redeem Anwar within Umno because he represents a real threat to their positions and ambitions. With a succession line up of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi with Najib Tun Razak next being firmed up, Anwar's dream of the ultimate prize recedes to a pipe dream.

In the absence of alternatives, it would be incumbent upon Anwar — if he ever wants to have that one chance in a million to be a prime minister who is not a puppet to PAS — to get Keadilan to join PRM and DAP in opposition to both PAS' as well as BN's policies.

Opposition politics will have to be reinvented to ride on mainstream Malaysian support if it is ever to have a chance to defeat the BN.

It depends entirely on Anwar who determines which way to go now that Malaysia is at the political crossroads.