Islam and religious tolerance
Sin Chew Dally, Asia News Network, Kuala Lumpur
The Pendang and Anak Bukit by-elections have eventually settled down with Barisan Nasional (BN) and Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) carrying one seat each.
PAS might have lost a parliamentary seat in Pendang, however, Barisan Nasional did not succeed in capturing Anak Bukit either, making any future attempt to redefine the boundaries of Kedah state assembly constituencies difficult.
The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on U.S. might have given BN a lift. Malaysians, in particular non-Muslims, have lost their confidence in PAS, which has strongly advocated jihad or "holy war".
The Sept. 11 incident has further polarized the Muslim community in this country, and differences in religious concepts have at times superseded issues on Malay rights.
Looking at the Pendang and Anak Bukit by-election results, we could see that PAS, which many non-Muslims consider radical and extremist, was still well supported among Muslims: the party retained the Anak Bukit state assembly seat with an impressive majority of over 500 (3.15 percent of total votes cast) while BN's majority in Pendang was a mere 283 (0.62 percent of total votes cast).
BN scored well in the two earlier by-elections post-Sept. 11. In comparison, the Pendang and Anak Bukit results were somewhat unusual.
In the past, BN government has been building its formidable foundation upon the principle of solidarity among the Malays. After 4 decades of independence, the influences exercised by most opposition parties have subsided, except PAS.
Judging from Malaysia's current political scenario, our politics will most likely be polarized in the foreseeable future between UMNO which "represents the Malay society" and PAS which "represents the Muslim community".
Having said that, Malay society and Muslim community are inseparable, almost identical in nature. As such, the struggle between two Malay parties (or rather two Muslim parties) is virtually a self-exhaustive internal conflict. As the Malay population continues to swell, the friction as well as other negative emotions arising from the split and confrontation will invariably have a strong and far-fetching bearing on our society.
As the fissure deepens, non-Malays and non-Muslims will eventually find themselves new darlings of the BN government. This helps explain BN's victories in the two earlier by- elections.
However, with the changes in the country's social and ethnic landscape, this situation may not last forever; and the winning card must somehow still be drawn from within the Malay community itself.
If both political parties remain obstinate with their respective interpretations of Islam, fanned by Hadi Awang's aggressive rhetoric, Malaysia will only be plunged further into hot water.