PAS-Umno ‘akad nikah’
The time is ripe for Umno and PAS to close ranks and ‘marry’ for the sake of Islam and in the name of Muslim brotherhood; it will be a union made in the heavens.
Narinder Singh, FMT
The mating game is played by birds, bees and many others from the animal kingdom. Some go to extreme lengths to execute bizarre courtships, exhibiting rare moves and character to attract the opposing mate.
In similarity, political parties are not far off the mark of playing mating games; and the best analogue is Umno and PAS. There has been bad blood between the two leading Malay centric parties and representative of the majority Muslims collectively, but there have been some dancing opportunities explored lately.
PAS has always claimed to be more Islam than Umno as their core values have been for long gyrating around the religious nucleus. They have vehemently championed hudud laws and syariah way of lifestyle.
According to PAS, those who oppose them may well be ticketing themselves to the gates of hell come judgment day. Since the divorce between PAS and Umno decades ago, reconciliation has taken a back seat until the recent two past general elections.
Wings have flared and the great walls between PAS and Umno are witnessing some porosity on the lines of Islam.
In the just concluded PAS polls, there was a sudden change of hearts and tone in the closing remarks by their leaders. They extended an olive branch to Umno, something not extremely extraordinary in the name of Islamic brotherhood but could be construed as giving a small jolt to their other allies in Pakatan Rakyat.
There is no doubt that Umno and PAS have only one thing common and that is Islam. There cannot be two types of Islam in a country that has only about 18 million Muslim who are citizens.
Can a common aspiration to uphold Islam be the binding factor between PAS and Umno soon?
Lately there have been clarion calls from both that it is time to close ranks and bury the hatchet that has caused a prolonged and continuous rift between them. The trend is indeed leaning quite significantly towards a ‘muzakarah’, thus fueling speculations that soon Malaysia will have syariah laws implemented since the majority are Muslims.
And rightfully too in the eye of many Muslim scholars and experts that since the government has declared Malaysia as an Islamic nation, there is no big deal in stamping it further.
Though the Federal Constitution states Islam as the official religion currently, whilst others can practice their own faiths, there is no prohibition to amend it to “Malaysia is an Islamic country” if there are two thirds majority agreeing for it in Parliament.
