Suchergebnisse

Political Islamization in Malaysia is represented by the two largest Malay-Muslim parties, UMNO and PAS. This article analyzes the Islamization policy introduced and implemented by UMNO and PAS during the era of Abdullah Badawi and Najib Razak as Prime Minister of Malaysia. This research presented four policies implemented by UMNO; Islam Hadhari, the Wasatiyyah principle, the Shariah Indeks of Malaysia, and the cooperation between UMNO and PAS. The four principles of Islamization introduced by PAS include; the agenda of the Islamic State, the implementation of Hudud, the Islam democratization, and the concept of Welfare State. The proposing of Islamization policies by both parties clearly shows that Islam has been one of the key indicators of country governance. The study also found that UMNO-PAS's Islamization policy has finally pioneered the cooperation between two parties from 2015 until now.

This article deliberates on how the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) embraces and weathers the challenges of democracy as a political culture beyond elections. The deliberation analyses the approach and behaviors of the party within a period of three general elections (GE), namely the GE12 in 2008, GE13 in 2013, and GE14 in 2018. Through qualitative approach and in-depth interviews with key PAS leaders, this article discusses PAS participation with the Pakatan Rakyat (PR), Muafakat Nasional (MN), and Perikatan Nasional (PN), which demonstrated the PAS's unchartered undertaking to accept democracy as a political culture and not as a tool to achieve political power through an election. While it is trite to take the position that elections are the truest form of democracy, they can foster greater inclusivity, which can take place in both political and non-political realms.

The Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) is no stranger to coalition politics. It has a long history of working with others, both in government and in opposition. Up until 2018, it used the framework of tahaluf siyasi as the guide to forming coalitions. Under the pretext of tahaluf siyasi or political coalition, PAS joined the Barisan Nasional (BN) government in 1974. It was also a key player in the Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU), Barisan Alternatif (BA) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition coalitions. But in the lead up to GE14, PAS decided to form the Gagasan Sejahtera coalition with much smaller parties-Berjasa and Ikatan. It dominated this coalition and the two partners were largely insignificant. After GE14, PAS decided to partner with UMNO in Muafakat Nasional, under the pretext of a new strategy called ta'awun siyasi or political cooperation. This is a looser partnership arrangement, in which the partners are not strictly bound to each other. The formation of Muafakat Nasional is a historic development, as it brings together the two biggest and oldest Malay political parties for the time in an exclusive manner. Bersatu joined the pact in 2020, making Muafakat Nasional the biggest Malay political force in Malaysia today. PAS sees its role as a unifier of the Muslim ummah, holding and keeping the peace between UMNO and Bersatu. For PAS, creating Malay Muslim unity is not just an effective political strategy but also a religious obligation.