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Malaysia Ruling Party Turns Its Guns to Islamic Opposition
KUALA LUMPUR, June 23 (News Agencies) - Malaysia's ruling party trained its guns Saturday on the Islamic opposition, the main threat to its 43 years of political dominance.
Delegates from the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) accused the Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) of twisting the national religion to serve political ends.
One unidentified speaker from Pahang state even called for the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows indefinite detention without trial, to "be used on those who abuse the religion."
"PAS is our number one enemy. They have been twisting and creating confusion as far as Islam is concerned," Muhyiddin Yassin, Consumer Affairs Minister and an UMNO vice-president, told the French news wire AFP.
Muhyiddin said the UMNO annual meeting who ends later Saturday discussed strategies "to go offensive all the way.
"Members will go to the grassroots to explain to the people what we have done and correct the confusion PAS has created, especially in matters of religion," he said.
"Every single member should be mobilized."
The ruling party has 2.9 million members. UMNO lost 22 parliamentary seats in the 1999 election while PAS more than tripled the number of its seats to 27.
The opposition party also retained control of Kelantan state and took over neighboring Terengganu state in the northern Malay Muslim heartland.
During a debate on religion, delegates lashed out at PAS for what they called the abuse of Islam.
"PAS is not a religious party as it claims," said the Pahang delegate. "PAS uses Islam as a tool to achieve its political goals..we suggest ISA should be used on those who abuse the religion."
Kedah delegate Mohamad Kamal Saidin said the Islamic opposition "manipulates the law of God. The mosque is used to divide Muslims."
PAS was "a traitor to Islam and a traitor to the country," Mohamad declared.
Another delegate called for a "holy war against PAS. Our struggle is not over yet."
Othman Desa, a delegate from Penang, urged the government to turn private religious schools into government-aided schools.
Hajah Zaleha Hussein of Kelantan described PAS's struggle as "haram" (against Islam).
She said it was also "haram" to support the party because it instigated people to hate the government, when Islam demanded that followers be loyal to the administration which discharged its duties according to Allah's way.
Hajah Zaleha also slammed "nonsensical teachings" by PAS leaders -- saying some members were taught to believe they were "stoning" UMNO leaders when performing the stoning the devil pilgrimage ritual.
The government has hit back at PAS in a number of ways, severely curbing the circulation of its newspaper Harakah.
Its editor is on trial for sedition over an article about jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.
After PAS took over Terengganu, the government took over control of annual oil revenues worth tens of millions of dollars, which were previously paid directly to the state government.
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