Islamic Party of Malaysia
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Template:Politics of Malaysia The Islamic Party of Malaysia (also PAS, from the Malay Parti Islam SeMalaysia) is an Islamist political party in Malaysia, headed by Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, a radical Ulama who gave moral support to the former Taliban regime of Afganistan when it destroyed the statues of Buddha in Bamiyan, Afganistan. He gave a sermon in a mosque that he believed that the Taliban regime was a beautiful example of the Islamist regime he wished to establish in Malaysia.
PAS positions itself as an Islamist party that upholds Muslim supremacy and non-Muslim inferiority, in contrast to UMNO's Islam Hadhari ideology that upholds equality between Muslim and non-Muslims. Enjoying strong support in rural, more conservative areas, PAS took control of the state of Kelantan in 1990, the first opposition party in independent Malaysia's history to break the UMNO monopoly. In 1999, riding a groundwell of popular protest after the arrest and conviction of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, PAS allied itself with the Democratic Action Party (DAP) in the Barisan Alternatif and expanded to take over Terengganu as well in the general election held that year.
PAS has publicly stated its intention to instate what it claims to be sharia law, including the full range of criminal hudud law and its punishments, but has so far been stymied in a court battle since UMNO maintains that this would violate the Constitution as it is not sharia as Malaysia is already an Islamic State. The move by PAS to extend the already implemented sharia laws, such as by banning the sale of alcoholic beverages, to non-Muslims has caused opposition from Malaysian non-Muslim community that comprises of mainly Chinese and Indian minorities as well as non-Muslim Bumiputras, propelling the DAP to break off the former alliance.
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In the 2004 Malaysian general election, PAS was given a bloody nose and its pride was dented as it only won seven parliamentary seats and losing its other parliamentary seats. This marks a significant decrease from the 27 parliamentary seats it won in the 1999 general election due to the Anwar Ibrahim factor. Furthermore, one of the seven seats was won because the Barisan Nasional candidate was disqualified on a technicality. The party leader, Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, lost his parliamentary seat due to Muslim anger that he carry out his election promises uplifting their standard of living, which became worse after PAS captured the Trengganu State from Barisan Nasional in 1999. PAS also lost control of the state of Terengganu, which it had wrested control of in 1999. PAS retained control of the state of Kelantan with a very slim majority of 24 out of 45 seats. [1] (http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,242008,00.html)
External links
- PAS website (http://www.parti-pas.org/)
- Harakahdaily (http://www.harakahdaily.net) (PAS newspaper-in English and Malay)
See also: List of political parties in Malaysia, Politics of Malaysia