As the rhetoric in the Malaysian political arena turns more and more towards the racial-religious narrative, several issues have surfaced as the terms 'Islam' and 'Melayu' continue to be bandied about as political weapons by certain quarters.

An example is the open war of words between former opposition allies PAS and DAP and the branding of the DAP as 'anti-Islam' and a party good only for championing the cause of the Chinese community.

The planned implementation of the Islamic penal code, hudud, by PAS in Kelantan has rubbed socialist democrats the wrong way, leading to an open tiff that eventually led to the dissolution of the opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat.

Of late, PAS seems to be moving closer and closer to a cooperation, if not a full-on political marriage with Malay-based Umno which leads the ruling BN coalition...