Amanah communications director Khalid Samad recently said that PAS is increasingly becoming irrelevant in Malaysia. He anticipates that PAS will soon lose Kelantan; their stronghold all these years.

“I believe that Islamic politics is relevant for all states in Malaysia, but not in the way PAS is approaching it today,” he said in an interview with FMT . Islamic politics must be seen as an alternative to the current corrupt Malay-Muslim leadership, not one with it.

He said PAS, by pursuing power for the sake of instituting punitive measures, was in fact putting itself at loggerheads with the objectives of Islamic politics.

“PAS has reduced Islamic politics to the question of power for the sake of enforcing an array of punitive measures. They believe that through this justice is ensured. This not only oversimplifies the message of Islamic politics, but distorts it.

“The objective of Islamic politics is to govern as an act of servitude to God and a blessing to man, to administer justice and to protect the downtrodden while advocating a high sense of social responsibility among all, especially the rich.

“It is politics centred on justice and the rejection of all forms of prejudice, discrimination and racism. It emphasises transparency and accountability to ensure the effectiveness of the checks and balances which must exist to ensure good governance.”

The last two paragraphs are something I would write about as also ‘Christian politics’; if ever there was such a thing.

Recently, the Penang Institute jointly with Gabungan Bersama Malaysia or GBM hosted a Forum on what is the ‘maqasid syariah’? I attended to be educated by the forum. It was not a ‘new, new’ subject, as I had been a student with Dr Seyeed Hossein Nasr, at George Washington University. Nevertheless, it was truly refreshing as I was now hearing local Malay scholars articulating ideas I had never before heard expressed other than by Prof SH Nasr and Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa.

There was an ustaz from PKR on stage who was equally enlightening, and who distinguished between two fundamental concepts of Islamic Politics; at its core or roots. The one is related to ‘truth,’ and this for him was the goal of much of ‘higher Islamic teaching and faith’. The other is ‘the pursuit of good’ which, according to him was the political intent of all ‘Islamic Politics’. In short these truths inform us to seek both the good; always and never harm.

Doing good

Within the period of last three months, I went to Gua Musang two times, for my very first ever visits to Manik Urai. In both trips our goal was to visit ‘our house project’ for a flood victim in Kelantan. Pak Pin lost his home in the worst floods Kelantan has ever faced before. Thankfully Pak Pin now has his house and I can only pray that it will become a home over the longer term.

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We were able to do ‘a little good’ in this world, but are they doing enough good in Kelantan? It is so easy in the modern world to simply worry about all global politics, and get caught up about global issues or causes, like the Palestinian one, or develop theories related to the Paris bombings and assigning blame to one side or the other vide in our WhatsApp chat groups.

But, why is it difficult for me to understand why Kelantan is so backward after 57 years of Malay Islamic rule and democracy, or why are the Orang Asli of the peninsula in similar conditions? It is one thing to say carelessly, “This is what the Kelantan people really want or what the Orang Asli really want.’

It is yet another that I do not know why so many Kelantanese choose to vote in Kelantan but prefer to live in Kuala Lumpur or Petaling Jaya. And I suppose it is also more than a multiple wives issue.

Therefore, this column is dedicated to my good friends in Parti Amanah Negara or Amanah, and especially those from Kelantan, who argue what ‘is true Islamic Politics’ of a global nature and the new forms it must take to address truth matters and seek what is good in life; for all citizens. My question and wish is that they declare and agree on what will they do different in Kelantan; if and when they take control of the state? That is a manifesto I would like to read.

The modern problem

The greatest modern problem is what I call the problem of integrity of life. Most of us ‘cakap tak serupa bikin!’ As Americans call it, ‘we do not walk our talk;’ at least most of the time. Therefore, whether in American politics, or Malaysian politics, we do not have enough truthful politicians who walk their talk. That currently defines integrity in politics; whether with Barack Obama or with Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Once in power; their goal suddenly shifts and becomes a means to some larger end, and somehow never seems to any more serve the interests of the common people; i.e. those who voted them in, or those who pay their salaries.

Therefore my challenge to Amanah, as a new kid on the block as a political party; to demonstrate in either Kelantan or Terengganu or Kedah or Perak that you can deliver good, clean and honourable governance; before you make greater promises.

Frankly, I am not satisfied either; with ‘governance’ in Penang or Selangor; the so-called model Pakatan states. It is still much of ‘the same old same old’; with some marginal improvements.

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Sarawak’s new CM is the only one, in my heart and mind, who is showing the kind and quality of new and transformative leadership needed for a new Malaysia. His policies about Chinese Language Education, and now their switch to English as medium of official communication, are transformative measures which give ordinary people hope and we do know that these initiatives are better for all Sarawakians, in the longer term.

Trusteeship or good stewardship requires 100 percent trust assigned to the object of focus. If the new party ‘Amanah’ truly wants to become ‘new and different’, show it in your walk, folks. Go beyond talk. I for one am open to new ideas about good governance but so long as we can agree there is a need for an objective and definable truth ‘out there’, even if only through the limited methods of modern science.

Currently that truth is the federal constitution. There can be no other hierarchy of truth for each of us to verify any truths for one. All truth is always and only a personal interpretive truth. It becomes bigger when a party declares it as their whole truth. May God guide Malaysia forward.