With the flood and a deluge of price hikes, PAS has found a new weapon – its Unit Amal (welfare unit) – to penetrate Umno’s rural fortress and make some headway in the quest for Putrajaya.
The Islamist party failed to make any headway in the past two general elections but believe its Unit Amal can expand PAS’s political influence in Kemaman, Terengganu, and Kuantan, Pahang, both traditional Umno strongholds, for the next polls.
Previously known as the boys in red who directed traffic and security during PAS and Pakatan Rakyat events, the welfare unit has become the party’s energising force.
These boys formed the frontline for the Islamic party in assisting victims of flood-hit areas in Terengganu, Pahang and Johor.
“A village development and security committee chairman told me that a group of the Unit Amal members assisted him during the recent floods,” PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang told a party central committee meeting recently.
“When he offered them some money for their efforts, they politely turned down the offer. They told him that they did not want money.
“If the chairman was sincere in showing his gratitude for their assistance, he should vote for PAS in the 14th general election,” Abdul Hadi added.
PAS officials and analysts say Unit Amal’s voluntary work for the flood victims in both areas following the recent monsoon season have helped it realise its “Welfare Country” concept.
When PAS launched its election manifesto in 2008 titled “Welfare Country”, many Malaysians did not understand the meaning of the concept as promoted by PAS, the officials said.
But when floods struck Kuantan, Kemaman and parts of Johor recently, people in the affected areas began to enjoy the benefits of a welfare country which PAS had promised, agreed political analysts and PAS leaders in a recent meeting to evaluate the party’s progress six months after the 13th general election.
They said through its Unit Amal, the PAS machinery had mobilised to help those in need of assistance regardless of race or creed.
“They come quietly, do their work and leave without any fanfare” has been the general description of how the boys in red do their job, said a party official.
PAS political observer Timmy Say said that the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) was intimidated by the effect of PAS’s welfare unit during the recent floods.
“The Shia issue played up by Putrajaya recently was merely an attempt to sweep away the deeds of the welfare unit,” said Timmy, who is a columnist for The Malaysian insider.
PAS Johor information chief Onn Jaafar said people in the state did not recognise the party before major floods hit the southern state in 2006.
“It was only after the 2006 floods that Johoreans began to know and recognise PAS’s good deeds,” Onn told The Malaysian Insider.
“At that time, there was panic as many did not know what to do since it was the first time the southern state was hit by floods. The PAS red army assisted them,” he added.
The gratitude was evident two years later during the 12th general election when PAS won state assembly seats in Maharani and Sungai Abong.
It was the first time that PAS had ever triumphed in these two constituencies. The victory was described as the constituents thanking PAS for their assistance during the floods.
“It was also the first time that the PAS candidate contesting in the Kota Tinggi parliamentary constituency did not lose his deposit,” said Onn, who ran on a PAS ticket in Kota Tinggi in 2008.
This year, when parts of Pahang, Terengganu and Johor were inundated by flood waters, PAS’s Unit Amal was among the first on the scene to provide assistance.
“About 2,000 members of the PAS welfare unit from all over Malaysia were involved in helping out flood victims in various areas, such as Kuantan and Kemaman, which were among the worst hit,” brigade director-general Juhari Osman told The Malaysian Insider.
Even after the flood waters had receded, the welfare unit continued to provide assistance by helping victims to clean their house, said the 38-year-old.
“Fortunately, we were welcomed into all houses in our Unit Amal uniforms. It might have been a problem if we were wearing PAS clothing,” he added.
