This is why, even when Harapan
was briefly in power, I was vehemently opposed to the enabling of the
religious industrial complex because, ultimately, it served the
ethnocentric narrative of this country which the mainstream political
establishment (which includes the opposition) embraced because the Malay
political establishment did not want to spook the Malays.
While urban polity has been in their echo chambers, the religious
industrial complex has defined āMalayā culture and preoccupations from
entertainment to commerce and has normalised, especially among the young
people, ideas that are anathema to secular democratic norms.
They
have done this not only through social media but also through
mainstream media organs, the alternative press by "useful idiots" (a
cold war term) and of course a compliant opposition, fearful of spooking
the Malays.
The
idea that PAS was a joke in the recently concluded election was a
dangerous idea that fed into the victim ideology of PAS ā and PN for
that matter ā and proved to be disastrous for Harapan.
PASā
propaganda is far more sophisticated than Umnoās and Harapanās and
displays a keen understanding of how Malay society works.
If
anything, PAS has evolved - not ideologically - when it comes to
courting the Malay vote, having learnt much from its partners since
becoming mainstream.
PAS grassroots activists helpfully showed me
the kind of propaganda that PAS put out, which was impressive in its
sophistication.
Most of it was done by instant messaging and it
was quite brutal in the way it clearly defined the PAS and PN struggle.
This was no waffling narrative.
PN the logical choice
Everyone talked about the youth vote going to the progressive forces
in this country, but in recent elections, they have proven unreliable or
going towards parties like Bersatu and by extension PN, rather than
being the manna from heaven for Harapan.
Some in the PAS intelligentsia told me that what PN offers is a tabula rasa from the corruption of Umno.
What they āpromotedā is a rejection of a corrupt Umno and a Chinese insurgency through Anwar Ibrahim.
So
if you do not like Umno and you are afraid of the DAP, then the logical
choice is PN, which not only has the experience of running the country
during a pandemic but whose leader Muhyiddin Yassinās olive branch was
rejected by an arrogant non-Malay dominated coalition.
By
pushing this narrative that it does not need to win elections - as Hadi
has said numerous times - or that it only needs God to win elections,
this plays well with a growing number of disenfranchised within the
Malay community and absolves PAS if they lose.
Furthermore,
Bersatuās position as an alternative to Umnoās corruption reinforces
ideas among the young people that a party that has experience is a safe
bet, especially during these trying times of geopolitical uncertainties.
PAS
and PN are now free to define their version of moderation without
having to rely on non-Muslim input to craft a narrative which resonates
with their ever-growing base. And, depending on who they hook up with,
they will make the necessary concession understanding that a weakened
Umno does not pose a threat and Harapan will be cowed because they
assumed that they had this election in the bag.
The PAS president
understands that he will be vilified by non-Malay political operatives,
but he also knows that when it comes to actual policymaking, his
rhetoric and that of his base have a profound impact, even if in terms
of representation, PAS was negligible, especially in the federal
government.
How this has changed? All the hard work, the
normalisation of religious narratives and the enabling of the religious
industrial complex have created a political terrain in which PAS
thrived.
Openly disagreeing with the Selangor sultan and calling
for state theocratic rebellion against the sultan, when it came to the
Bon Odori festival, was a way of flexing PAS' muscles.
The fact that there has been no sanction from the royal institution is indicative of the growing power of this theocratic party.
With GPS claiming
that it will form a coalition with PN, BN and GRS, the terrain is
shifting in PAS' favour even more. It remains to be seen if all parties
agree to this or whether there are some surprises in store.
Folks
should not think that all this is doom and gloom because what this does
is merely elevate the Borneo bloc to the next stage of an eventual
confrontation with interlopers from the peninsula.
It's just that the Malay uber alles bloc does not see it now. But they will. They will.
Sooner, rather than later, Hadi will get his Islamic state.
