“The green wave is already here, in the Madani government”

“The green wave is already here, in the Madani government”

By Wong Kah Beng

SINCE the last general election, non-Muslim voters have been told to be wary of the “green wave” engendered by Perikatan Nasional (PN), where the Islamic party PAS is a dominant player.

As we know, PN made much headway during 15th General Election (GE15) and almost formed the federal government. We were told that if we are not careful at the ballot boxes, the country will slide further down towards Islamism ala-Taliban.

The most recent and clearest example of this is how DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng spooked Penang voters in a political lecture about the prospects of temples being demolished if PN were to rule the state after the upcoming elections in six states, including Penang.

The unity government has a convenient boogeyman – PAS. Often supporters of the unity government characterised PAS leaders as turban-clad conservatives more concerned about nurses’ uniforms than the advent of artificial intelligence or globalisation.

There’s no denying that PAS leaders have themselves to blame, through their own words and deeds, for the anxiety and consternation they elicit from non-Muslims. The recent brouhaha over the nurses’ uniform is a case in point.

But it’d be overly simplistic to pin the so-called “green wave” only on PN, which is not even part of the unity government. Whether we realise it or not, the Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim administration has also been strident in its Islamist agenda.

The latest example is his announcement that Malaysia is not a secular country, meaning that religion and state cannot be totally separated. This is a very slippery slope as it opens the floodgates far wider for religious doctrines to come into our daily personal lives.

As it is, the non-Muslims already have to contend with the creeping Islamisation, partly due to competition for Malay-Muslim votes between the unity government and PN.

Whatever happened to the DAP and the moderates in PKR who had in the past vehemently opposed the increasingly overt Islamisation? Didn’t they make a hue and cry when former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that Malaysia was an Islamic state back when he was the PM the first time around?

In case the non-Muslims have forgotten, Anwar’s pronouncement of Malaysia not being a secular state is not his only political posturing to win over the Malay votes. His Cabinet had also approved the Shariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965, better known as RUU355.

According to the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, RUU355 was also approved by the DAP leaders in Cabinet and is now awaiting tabling in the Dewan Rakyat

While RUU355 had been around for a long time, not even former prime ministers Datuk Seri Najib Razak, Dr Mahathir, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri took it so far as getting it approved in the Cabinet, awaiting tabling in the Dewan Rakyat.

However Anwar, confident that the non-Malay voters are behind him all the way, decided to push his luck.

Let’s not forget that recently, Anwar wanted JAKIM to be empowered with a policy-making role. His call came across as rather strange, as the department is known more for controversial stances over issues like non-Muslims’ use of “Allah” and unilateral conversions. JAKIM is not known for its expertise in economic or education policies.

Even Anwar’s “Madani” concept is said to be inspired by the Medinan Surah in the Al-Quran, which was revealed after Prophet Muhammad’s hijrah from Mecca to Madinah. No recent Malaysian PM has ever used Islamic-inspired slogans to stamp their mark on their respective administrations.

In recent times, we’ve had 1Malaysia, Malaysia Baharu, Kerajaan Prihatin and Keluarga Malaysia.

To conclude, Anwar is pushing the envelope on Islamism as he desperately tries to establish his Islamic credentials in the run-up to the state polls. He’s probably confident that the non-Muslims will continue to back his unity government come what may.

But in doing so, he’s pushing the nation down the sliding slope of Islamism as the “point of no return” no longer lies on the distant horizon but approaches dangerously close and fast.

The “green wave” is not something that will sweep the country when PN takes over Putrajaya. It is something that is already here and, by the looks of it, is deeply ingrained in the Anwar administration. – July 12, 2023



Wong Kah Beng
Petaling Jaya