COMMENT Idris Ahmad is exceptional among PAS ulamak in that his speeches are not studded with verses from the Quran.

He is more apt to talk about the national debt's impact on ordinary citizens than perhaps what Islamic scripture says about debt and its effects.

On the campaign trail, this PAS vice-president - who is also the Bukit Gantang MP - prefers to address bread and butter issues rather than display his erudition as an ustaz with a Masters degree in Islamic studies from a local university.

It's his pragmatism more than any secularity in his outlook that keeps his attention fastened to the everyday concerns of ordinary folk, and not so much their eligibility for the afterlife.