With his usual panache, PAS secretary-general Mustafa Ali swatted aside popular perceptions that the male dominated Islamic party is being tardy in allowing non-Muslims participation and share leadership with women.

NONE In the last segment of a three-part interview, Mustafa addressed the steps being taken in appeasing non-Muslims who are eyeing more participation after years of unstinting support.

He also broached the topic of women in PAS who also want a larger slice of the party's leadership pie.

Mustafa admits that these are in fact issues that must be addressed as PAS matures politically.

However, he said, it is a process which will take time and effort to solve and cannot be achieved overnight.

The following are edited excerpts from his exclusive interview with Malaysiakini :

Malaysiakini: Non-Muslims in PAS? How do you ensure their support especially with existing non-Muslim supporters?

Mustafa: We already have a mechanism, whereby the Dewan Himpunan Penyokong PAS will have proper membership.

They can become members, with a proper structure and an advisory body made up of PAS leaders and they can attend our meetings. They can also send their representatives to the muktamar .

Even without this mechanism, non-Muslims, especially Chinese and Indians in the peninsula have been with PAS.

They have more confidence in our fight, in the honesty of our leaders, rather than the parties which they reject. I'd rather not say which parties.

But they are not full members?

No, they are not PAS members but club members. But in the next elections, they may use the PAS ticket and symbol. That is where we are heading.

In the muktamar their representatives can attend and speak. They cannot vote directly in the party elections but they can vote for their own leaders in the club. It is these leaders that will accompany us to the muktamar .

But the non-Muslims want more - they want full membership.

Well and good, but this is another matter that will involve a constitutional amendment (which will take time).

Is this final? Or will there be other ways to address their request?

We will look at developments. Even this development is something that happened over the years.

We have actually evolved from just having groupings of supporters, to now a formal body representing them.

They are members of the Dewan Himpunan Penyokong PAS and they have their rights, which we respect, including when contesting in the next polls.

What about non-Muslims who still want more for their unstinting support of PAS, They may turn away if spurned?

They may be some voice of dissent but those are a few. We have to consider the majority.

But I think that most are okay with the current arrangement. Human wants are vast, but we can only address them as and when we can and need to.

Can non-Muslims eventually be full PAS members?

It is an ongoing discussion, but we will proceed stage by stage. From just supporters they are now members of the Dewan Himpunan PAS, maybe in the future they may rise to become full members. Time will tell.

But isn't it taking too long?

PAS was founded in 1951; the club came into being in 2004. The idea of non-Muslim members is not new.

It was broached 50 years ago by Dr Zul, the deputy president. But in politics, ideas take time to mature and require the right time and moment.

What about women in PAS who want more active participation?

That is the norm now. It is not only PAS, it is all the women in Malaysia. There was this UN conference that decided long ago to have 30 percent participation of women in decision-making bodies.

Parliament and such. But even the West has not attained this percentage.

So based on that decision, they are making these demands. But in PAS, the process is ongoing. Before, we didn't even have female parliamentarians. Now we do.

It is an ongoing process in the party. How many women in Parliament are from Umno? How many women are in its Supreme Council?

However, I think that the world of politics, especially in the third world, is still male dominated. The participation of women is rising.

This is not only in Malaysia; it is also a global phenomenon. And we are taking steps to boost women's participation, Allah willing.

Part 1: PAS sec-gen: 'Pakatan united'

Part 2: Mustafa Ali: ‘No crisis in PAS'