Tourists enjoying their meals at the Siti Khatijah night market in Kota Bahru, Kelantan, are often in for a rude shock when they are chased away from their tables by religious officers during mahgrib , the Muslim evening prayer time.

According to local traders, the practice of clearing everyone out from the market square was a daily affair and was intentionally done to encourage Muslims to pray.

The traders, like the tourists, consider the act annoying. However, locals say, Praying five times a day on scheduled times is wajib (compulsory) in Islam.

Strangely though, this daily routine is only restricted to the market square, which is located at the heart of Kota Bharu town. Situated near the towns main bus terminal, the market is a hive of activities in the evening.

Other than the market place, shoppers are allowed to continue eating their meals even during praying time. Shopping centres nearby continue to operate as usual without disturbances from the over-zealous officers.

A PAS official said the market is an open space and is very visible to the public eye. As all the traders are Muslims, it seem only plausible that they show a good example, he added.

This disturbing yet unique characteristic is one of PAS efforts to incorporate the tenets of Islam into the states daily administration. It should not surprised anyone since PAS is an Islamic party and often projects itself as the party of God.

Spiritual dimension

In 1990, PAS defeated Barisan Nasional and captured the northern state.

The Muslim-based party was then in an electoral pact, the Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah, with several Muslim non-governmental organisations and Semangat 46, a splinter group of Umno, led by former finance minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Aziz Nik Mat was reported to have said before the announcement of the 1990 general election results that, There is a kind of understanding between the angels in heaven and human beings on earth.

According to the PAS spiritual leader, life is not limited to the dimensions of the earth alone. Life, he said, included the spiritual dimension, and of course, life after death.

In line with this understanding, PAS often recite the solat hajat (special prayers), as an administrative instrument to seek answers during critical moments.

Whenever there were major crises in Kelantan, the menteri besar was known to order solat beramai-ramai (mass prayers) in open places such as a field, stadium or state mosque.

The gatherings were participated by thousands of Muslims, many of whom came from neighbouring states such as Kedah, Perlis and Terengganu.

Controversial dam

One such incident was during the Pergau crisis in 1992. Nik Aziz was reported to have organised a prayer rally at Kem Kijang in Kota Bahru to seek solutions to the problem.

The state government was in a fix then as it was running out of funds to finish the hydro-electric Pergau dam project, which cost some RM1.3 billion.

The controversial project was initiated by Kelantans previous BN government in 1989.

PAS claimed that when it took over the Malay heartland in 1990, the federal government refused to allocate the necessary funds for the project.

So Nik Aziz ordered a mass prayer. A short while after the prayers were held, the federal government channelled the appropriate amount of money to the state government to complete the project.

Five years later, Kelantan was faced with a constitutional crisis involving the powers of the sultan. Nik Aziz immediately organised a mass rally to confront the problem.

The crisis heightened when the Kelantan Umno branch questioned the validity of the sultanate. To express their disapproval of the sultan, the party planned a mass demonstration on April 10 outside the Kota Lama Palace.

A day before the demonstration took place, which was supposed to be attended by thousands of Umno members, Nik Aziz conducted a mass prayer at Masjid Muhammadi in Kota Bahru.

The next day, only 200 people turned up for the Umno gathering. The crowd also dispersed almost as soon as the gathering begun due to a heavy thunderstorm.

Bigger majority

On April 23 the same year, two days before the general elections, Nik Aziz order a prayer rally as political observers cautioned that PAS may lose Kelantan. BN members, after all, were continuously spreading the propaganda that PAS had done nothing for the state.

The prayers held at the local stadium drew about 40,000 people. When the results were announced, PAS was jubilant as it had managed to retain Kelantan with an even bigger majority.

They were other such prayers organised during PAS rule. The latest was held in July 2000 and involved the local police department. It was meant to rid the state of social problems. Coincidently, Kelantan is reported to have one of the lowest crime rates in the country.

Could it be that there may be some truth after all to the adage that prayers work wonders?