The self-righteous attitude portrayed by certain women leaders in PAS is among the major factors that push women voters away, claimed a male party leader today.

The politician from Kelana Jaya said the Dewan Muslimat (women's wing) have nobody to blame but itself for turning away women voters who helped the party to a sterling performance in the 1999 general election.

"It is their holier-than-thou attitude that just turns off people. For example in Terengganu, the Muslimat members look down upon those who do not wear tudung labuh (waist-long headscarves) like them. They tend to alienate themselves from the rest and they don't value these people or their work very much.

"Yes, people in Terengganu are conservative, but how many of them wear tudung labuh ? It's no wonder they turn to the likes of Puteri and Wanita Umno. Such attitude had cost the party the state," said the US graduate on condition of anonymity.

He was referring to PAS' dismal performance in last year's polls, which saw the opposition party lose the Terengganu state to Barisan Nasional.

The politician was commenting on a recent malaysiakini report which highlighted the findings by Asst Prof Bridget Welsh of John Hopkins University that voting patterns during the 1999 and 2004 general election suggests an increase in women's support for BN .

According to Welsh, women's support for the opposition Barisan Alternatif fell during the 2004 general election. She said this was especially glaring in certain constituents and for certain parties like PAS.

Not surprised

Meanwhile, PAS central committee member Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud said she was not surprised with the findings as the party's internal study also showed similar results.

She said although there were external factors like unfair media coverage that led women who supported PAS in 1999 to change their stand in 2004, there were also internal factors that cannot be ignored.

"There are many reasons why women did not support PAS but we have to admit that we have made some mistakes as well. The truth is, PAS has no specific policies on women. We don't have any ruling to say that PAS women should look or behave in a certain way.

"But somehow due to the attitude of some of us and maybe the negative reports that we received, it is made out as if there are specific policies on how women in PAS should appear and behave," she added.

Siti also conceded that narrow-minded women leaders in the party are making it hard for PAS to have mass appeal.

"Such attitude is a problem in the Muslimat. There are still those who are narrow minded and tend to emphasise too much on small things like the length of one's tudung. I don't want to reveal names but it is a problem."

"The issue of tudung labuh is very sensitive especially in places like Terengganu. We know that such attitude has cost us support from women voters but nobody dares cross swords with them. I guess most of us want to maintain the harmony among members," she said.

She agreed that leaving the issue unresolved would prove to be costly for the party in the long run, considering that the next election is only about three years away.

"Yes, such attitude must change. To me, the leaders chosen are responsible for paving the way of the party. If the people choose that kind of leaders then, that is the kind of image they have to bear with. Changes must be mooted by the grassroots who have the power to choose their leaders," she added.

Siti stressed that changes do not mean that all Muslimat members must abandon their tudung labuh and dress up to date.

"As leaders of a political party we must be open minded. You can be strict upon yourself but you must allow some flexibility towards others. You should not impose your values on others or allow others to push their way onto you," she said.

Siti expressed hope that the Muslimat leaders will adopt an unbiased attitude and not judge others by their appearance.

"If you appear aloof towards others, they will get scared from getting close to us. If they don't even want to approach us, how can we tell them of our struggle which is a lot bigger that the way people dress," she said.

Strange messages

Echoing similar views was a PAS Youth leader, who said Muslimat members are seen to be too rigorous on 'not so relevant' issues like dressing and attitude.

"They have these strange messages to party workers: You must wear tudung labuh ! Don't be too bold! Don't talk too loud!. That's certainly not appealing to young women." he added.

He was also puzzled why Muslimat state leaders do not follow the example set by federal leaders such as Kalthom Othman, Dr Lo' Lo' Ghazali ( photo ) and Siti.

"The Muslimat leaders at the state level seem to shrug off the strong leadership qualities shown by these three leaders who are more tolerant," he said.

A Muslimat leader from Klang related how she was given the cold shoulder by Selangor division leaders when she first joined PAS in 1998.

"I attended one of my first PAS functions and no one talked to me. I thought it was because I was new but later I found out it was my dressing that deterred them from talking to me. Later they advised me to wear tudung labuh ! I politely told them that I am comfortable as I am and that I think my short tudung already fulfills the Islamic requirement.

"They continued to alienate me but I ignored them and continued doing what I am for the party. Tapi orang lain boleh tahan ke ? (But can others stand it)"