{"id":419,"date":"2009-06-01T23:20:49","date_gmt":"2009-06-01T15:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/buletinonline.net\/v7\/index.php\/2009\/06\/non-muslims-to-complete-pas-national-stature\/"},"modified":"2009-06-01T23:20:49","modified_gmt":"2009-06-01T15:20:49","slug":"non-muslims-to-complete-pas-national-stature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/non-muslims-to-complete-pas-national-stature\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-Muslims to complete PAS\u2019 national stature"},"content":{"rendered":"

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 \u2014 Five years after setting up a club for non-Muslim supporters, PAS is more than ready to make them card-carrying members as it moves towards national and mainstream relevance.<\/font><\/p>\n

The 20,000-strong supporters club\u2019s national convention last Saturday saw it passing a resolution to form a wing recognised constitutionally as a \u201cdewan,\u201d not unlike its Muslimat (women) or Ulamak (religious scholar).<\/font><\/p>\n

Now all it needs is support from within the party to make it come true. <\/font><\/p>\n

With endorsement from no less than spiritual leader Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat, party officials say converting the club into a full-fledged wing will take less than a year, another milestone for the party of clerics that broke away from Umno in 1951 but is now recognised as having the most efficient machinery and structure within Pakatan Rakyat.<\/font><\/p>\n

The issue is expected to be debated at the party\u2019s 55th muktamar or assembly this week in Selangor.<\/font><\/p>\n

PAS research chief Dzulkefly Ahmad recently admitted that as a Muslim-based party, it is unable to take over federal government single-handedly but that the party is reforming to reach out to more non-Muslims.<\/font><\/p>\n

The implications include voting rights in party polls as well as the opportunity to contest in elections under the PAS ticket.<\/font><\/p>\n

Previously, supporters\u2019 club members had run under PKR, such as the club\u2019s Wanita Johor chief Kumutha Rahman who had run for the Tiram state seat last year.<\/font><\/p>\n

But with a growing level of acceptance from non-Muslims, especially since Datuk Seri Nizar Jamaluddin\u2019s defiant stand after being usurped as Perak mentri besar in February, PAS appears to have seen the merits of fast-forwarding the process of empowering the club.<\/font><\/p>\n

Nik Aziz told the convention that the club should have been absorbed into the party a long time ago in view of the undivided support of non-Muslim members.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cThe party leadership is prepared to accept them and I thank them all,\u201d he said at the convention.<\/font><\/p>\n

It sees a sudden burst of momentum to the proposal which was presented as a working paper to the party leadership after a retreat in Langkawi in November 2008.<\/font><\/p>\n

Party leaders had said that it would take a few years for it to be debated, fine tuned and then gain traction among members.<\/font><\/p>\n

Only in April this year did a technical committee form to study the proposal.<\/font><\/p>\n

But PAS National Unity chief Mujahid Yusof Rawa who supervises the club, told The Malaysian Insider that a final draft will soon be handed over the centre committee to be vetted.<\/font><\/p>\n

\u201cIt will be before the next muktamar even,\u201d he said when asked if the next general assembly would see the tabling of the proposal.<\/font><\/p>\n

An emergency general assembly would then require two-thirds of delegates to accept the motion as it deals with constitutional matters.<\/font><\/p>\n

The club, made up mostly of ethnic Chinese and Indians, had also adopted resolutions to press the party to recognise its role in both national and state-level operations with each state to establish an advisory and liaison committee.<\/font><\/p>\n

The club\u2019s increasing pressure, as well as Nik Aziz\u2019s endorsement, will likely manifest itself in the debates at this weekend\u2019s muktamar. – MalaysianInsider
<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KUALA LUMPUR, June 1 \u2014 Five years after setting up a club for non-Muslim supporters, PAS is more than ready to make them card-carrying members as it moves towards national and mainstream relevance. The 20,000-strong supporters club\u2019s national convention last Saturday saw it passing a resolution to form a wing recognised constitutionally as a \u201cdewan,\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"better_featured_image":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/419\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buletinonlines.net\/v7\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}