The inexorable distance between PAS and the Malaysian Chinese community

NEWS of the death of the 28th Lim Lian Geok Spirit Award (2015) winner Tan Choo Joo came as a shock to the nation given his momentous contribution towards the development of Chinese language education in this country, in particular the sterling achievements made by Chung Hwa Independent High School in Kelantan, which couldn’t have come this far if not for this man.

I have had the pleasure of meeting him on a number of occasions.

A picture has periodically popped up inside my head these past few days — that was when I was dining and drinking at a Kota Baru restaurant soon after PAS was voted in for a second time in Kelantan in 1990.

The local Chinese community leader who hosted me that day was none other than the highly respected Chinese educationist Tan Choo Joo.

The restaurant owner was pouring wine into a teapot, and we drank from teacups instead of goblets, cautiously and apprehensively.

That was the most unpleasant drinking session I have ever had in my entire life, the memory of which indeed is still deeply etched into my mind to this day!

The incident took place during the early days of PAS’ recapturing of Kelantan's state administration. Back then local restaurant operators were still uncertain about the state government’s policy on liquor ban, and were therefore treading extremely warily.

Kelantan fell into the hands of PAS for the first time from 1959 through 1978, at a time hudud was yet vocally embraced by the party, nor was any explicit liquor ban in place.

Basically, the party was running the state within the framework of the Federal Constitution along the country’s pluralistic narratives.

The party was returned for a second time in 1990, and has since run the state continuously until this day.

More and more Islamic policies are now being introduced, including a ban on liquor consumption and sale by Muslims, even though non-Muslims are still allowed to legally sell and consume alcohol at specified premises such as Chinese restaurants and hotels, albeit under strict control in terms of timing, venue and display of alcoholic beverages.

In more recent years, the state government has further restricted the supply of alcohol at hotels, and this has had a tremendous impact on wedding banquets and dinners hosted by local Chinese associations.

Save for the restrictions enforced on the premises for drinking, night entertainment operating hours and separate check-out counters for male and female patrons at supermarkets, non-Muslim Kelantanese in principle still enjoy the freedom of embracing their own religious faiths, drinking, consuming pork, and even participating in temple or church activities.

Following that, PAS has also captured several other state administrations, such as Terengganu, Perlis and Kedah, where different levels of Islamic policies have also been enacted, including separate seating for male and female cinema patrons, ban on betting outlets and excessively revealing attire, restrictions on commercial activities during the Muslim fasting month and prayer time, the Malam Jumaat ban on entertainment performances, and requiring karaoke and other entertainment outlets to end the day’s business by 10pm.

Whether these Islamic policies will be expanded nationwide once PAS helms the federal government, thus profoundly affecting the lives of non-Muslims in this country, has become a significant issue unsettling the Malaysian Chinese community.

In my last article in this column, “PAS is avid to engage with the Chinese community, but are we ready for it?” I highlighted the need for us to be aware of future political developments in this country, and urged the four pillars of the Malaysian Chinese community to be suitably prepared for such, as evasion is never a viable option!

A Chinese community leader with a Tan Sri title told me after reading the article: As a matter of fact, PAS has already taken the initiative to approach him, but owing to sensitivity consideration he had yet to agree to meet up.

As PAS will very likely anchor the next Malaysian government, it is impractical for the local Chinese community to steer away from engaging the party. Anyway, approaching a party does not imply support or approval of its ideologies, nor an attempt to “whitewash” or please it. The objective of such contacts is to enhance mutual understanding and clearly state the community’s red lines as well as its expectations for the country’s future.

PAS has apparently readied itself to take over the federal administration, with a prime ministerial candidate widely perceived as less fundamentalist, UK-trained, and with strong international perspectives — the incumbent Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.

That being said, the many policies he has introduced as Terengganu MB have been closely inspected by Chinese Malaysians who are more interested to know how this party leader touted as a strong contestant for the country’s next prime minister will handle the political, economic, cultural and educational needs of other ethnic communities while loyally safeguarding the interests of the majority Muslim populace.

The uneasiness the Malaysian Chinese community has towards PAS has, to a large extent, stemmed from what they perceive of the party’s execution of the above-mentioned policies.

Uneasiness, nonetheless, should not make a good excuse for refusal to engage, or meet up.

PAS is eyeing the coveted PM seat, and is fully confident of achieving it. There’s no doubt the Green Wave will keep expanding, especially with increasing support from a young Malay electorate where TikTok, popular among Malay youth, has made an advantageous battlefront.

That said, to win more than half of all parliamentary seats, PAS would still need the support from the Chinese community, and that explains why the party has been avidly engaging with the community of late.

As for us, we cannot afford to wait until they are comfortably seated in Putrajaya to actually make the move.

While PAS has its Putrajaya dream, BN-Umno also has its plan!

Umno is convinced that this is the best time for the party to return to the core of power, and has indeed hoped that the next general election will be held concurrently with the state elections in Johor, Melaka and Sarawak. Unfortunately, the war in Middle East has ruptured the plans of many!

No matter how PM (Datuk Seri) Anwar (Ibrahim) is slammed as being vulnerable, he holds the power to postpone the election to as late as 2028, and is therefore in no rush to call for an election anytime soon.

His pressing task now is to focus on helping Malaysians weather the impact of the Middle East crisis.

While there’s still time for a general election, bound by the Constitution, state elections may not wait that long!

Despite the uncertainties arising from the war, there are signs the Johor state election will likely be held this June or September, followed closely by those in Melaka and Sarawak slated before the end of the year.

Sources said Umno is pushing hard to get the Johor and Melaka elections held simultaneously, although this will need an affirmative nod from the Melaka Yang di-Pertua Negeri.

Results from these three elections will have a direct bearing on the direction of the general election coming up next, and we can be sure no parties would want to take this lightly.

Any mention of Umno should not go without mentioning Datuk Seri Najib Razak now still behind bars. Is the former PM still of any clout among the voting public? How will he shake up Malaysia’s future political state of affairs?

From what I understand, Umno is working very hard towards Najib’s parole, making two upcoming developments particularly noteworthy:

Firstly, will Najib withdraw his application for a judicial review of the royal addendum granted by former Yang di-Pertuan Agong, to get the government to prove its existence in his house arrest bid?

Secondly, will the Pardons Board meet very soon, with Najib’s pardon application on the table?

Some say Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has long “forgotten” about Najib, but is it really so? We’ll see!

What should command more of our attention now is how Umno is going to strategise its move in the Johor and Melaka elections as well as the subsequent general election, while the outcome of the party’s secretive interactions with PAS is also of veritable significance.

Datuk Kuik Cheng Kang is Group Editor-in-Chief of Media Chinese International (Malaysia).