The new look Pas has given many Malaysians reason to hope that a more inclusive brand of politics is possible.
This is a piece I wrote for Asia Times:
Once viewed as a promoter of fundamentalist Islam in politics, the times are changing for Malaysia’s opposition PAS party. For the first time since 1983, party delegates last weekend elected a candidate who is not an ulama, or religious leader, as its deputy president and with him a slew of other progressive politicians into the party’s top leadership positions.
It’s the clearest sign yet that PAS intends to broaden its electoral appeal ahead of what many anticipate will be a hotly contested general election later this year or next. With PAS’s new leadership, many political analysts believe the party’s goals and strategies, including a shift from promoting the creation of an Islamic state to a welfare state, will take on more populist themes in a strategic bid to expand its political base.
Full story in Asia Times
This is a piece I wrote for Asia Times:
Once viewed as a promoter of fundamentalist Islam in politics, the times are changing for Malaysia’s opposition PAS party. For the first time since 1983, party delegates last weekend elected a candidate who is not an ulama, or religious leader, as its deputy president and with him a slew of other progressive politicians into the party’s top leadership positions.
It’s the clearest sign yet that PAS intends to broaden its electoral appeal ahead of what many anticipate will be a hotly contested general election later this year or next. With PAS’s new leadership, many political analysts believe the party’s goals and strategies, including a shift from promoting the creation of an Islamic state to a welfare state, will take on more populist themes in a strategic bid to expand its political base.
Full story in Asia Times
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