PAS reiterated today it is not diluting its Islamic roots by re-strategising its party philosophy from Islamic state to welfare state or negara berkebajikan , but just adapting it to be more easily understood and avoid prejudice.

NONE “The welfare state concept is a more lengthy exposition of Islam. Islam is just a word, welfare state is its explanation,” president Abdul Hadi Awang ( third from right in photo ) said at a dialogue session organised by Malay daily Sinar Harian in Shah Alam today.

Hadi insisted that the Islamic party is still fighting to instill a just governance as per Islamic precepts.

“It is only that we use a language more easily understood by non-Muslims,” the veteran PAS leader said.

Hadi explained that in the current global climate, the word Islam, unfortunately, has been linked with intolerance and extremist behaviour, which breeds prejudice against it.

The important thing, Hadi stressed, is spreading the word about Islam and its justice which is a far cry from the intolerance that people fear.

He explained that Islamic law, of which Hudud is but a small part, and Islamic justice which includes the welfare of all the rakyat is something which is designed to be flexible and easy, that also can be moulded to fit the times.

However, he said that the Islamic welfare state is not only focused on charities and welfare as the welfare state explained by western political sciences, but a more holistic approach that not only requires just acts to take care of the welfare of the rakyat but also faith and good conduct in governance to fairly manage the trust of the people.

In the same vein, he admitted that some of what the BN-led government is doing, like developing the country are acts of welfare, but they fail the just and fair conduct test as those development are not managed fairly, with neither good faith nor just conduct.

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