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Can PAS really change? Malaysia’s Islamist party courts minorities with language
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Parti Islam SeMalaysia’s non-Muslim members at their annual convention on Sept 13 in Sungai Petani, about 60km south of Kedah’s capital Alor Setar.
ST PHOTO: SHANNON TEOH
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- PAS proposed teaching Mandarin and Tamil widely in national schools to foster unity, a radical shift to appeal to non-Muslim voters.
- Despite efforts like admitting non-Muslim members, PAS continues to face scepticism due to its theocratic ideals.
- Observers say PAS needs to offer practical solutions and move beyond religious policing to win significant minority support in future elections.
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ALOR SETAR – Long opposed to vernacular schools that teach in Mandarin and Tamil, Malaysia’s Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) has made a radical proposal in a bid to win over non-Muslims: teach those two languages widely in national public schools instead.
The suggestion by the Islamist opposition party’s deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man was the most startling one yet at its annual congress – or muktamar – in 2025, where wooing non-Muslim voters
