BY: KEN WATANABE

The spiritual leader of Parti PAS is under probe by the police and other authorities over his comment that Islamophobia has been created by the DAP political party and he wants this phenomenon to stop immediately.

While Hadi Awang is being probed, his son has come out strongly to remark that the “Green Wave” that witnessed Parti Pas amassing the most number of parliamentary seats for a political party was a clear indication that political Islam is on the rise in Malaysia.

Is it true that political Islam is gaining popularity? Most independent analysts disagree and explain that the only reason Parti PAS secured their parliamentary seats was because of the waning popularity of UMNO.

In many constituencies voters had little choice but to vote for Parti PAS because of the mass rejection of the people against UMNO. The use of social media, especially the Tik Tok platform, also witnessed a soft power by Parti PAS.

But many Malaysians in this country do not wish for theocracy and most Malay-Muslims see it as a parochial form of governance that is not in keeping with the times as they believe that religion should not be mixed with politics especially in a plural society.

It is also a huge concern to many Malaysians what form of Islam Parti PAS is advocating and this has led to claims of ‘ajaran sesat’ or deviant teachings by the hardliners within the party which appalls most Malay-Muslims who are moderates or support ‘hadari’.

-THE MALAYSIA VOICE

** The views expressed on this opinion is of the writer and not the publisher