Will PAS Ever Learn?
The Prime Minister, probably saddened after the less than impressive win in the Sarawak state elections got a fillip yesterday from PAS. When things were not exactly going his way with the success of the DAP at the polls he must have worried about the impact on PAS too. Well don't worry Sir, PAS has just done you a favour; A friend in need is a friend indeed! Please read the following report by Bernama to understand the drift of this post.
Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sunday shot down plans by the Kelantan government to issue its own currency using the gold dinar and silver dirham. Abdullah, who is attending the World Economic Forum on West Asia here, said state governments were not allowed to issue their own currency. Kelantan State Public Administration, Economic Planning, Finance and Community Development Committee chairman Datuk Husam Musa said Sunday that the Kelantan government would use the gold dinar and silver dirham as currency in three months and even planned to pay state public servants in the currency. The dinar and dirham currency would first be implemented in the state's Islamic system of pawnbroking, Ar-Rahnu, Husam told reporters after opening a seminar on financial economy and Islamic banking in Kota Baharu.-- BERNAMA
What can I say? Just when you think that they have really seen the political light and turned the corner, bang!, straight into a brickwall they go. Only in last night's post I had mentioned that PAS had learnt from it's mistakes and was raring to go. In which direction I only know now! They have taken twists and turns to a new level giving stiff competition even to fast-paced spy thrillers. This decision by PAS presupposes that the Malays are so naive that an unworkable, impractical and unnecessary gimmick like this is going to gain them some ground vis a vis Barisan. It may convince it's hardcore fans that an Islamic Republic is nigh at the 'corridor to Mecca' but otherwise this proposal is destined to go the way of the Dodo.
This is what happens when political parties use religion to gain power. PAS is a political party let there be no doubts on that score and everything it does is calculated to have a political benefit. It has the same type of infighting, political intrigue and skullduggery as any non-religious ones. The difference is that these 'pious' entities have perforce to come up with some outrageous proposal or another to keep it's equally 'pious' members in good humour, such as the present 'Dirham drama'.
When will PAS learn that such tactics are not only a waste of time but it also puts off rational, right thinking Muslims and non-Muslims? At the rate they keep changing direction and speed I doubt if they can be trusted to keep to their promises in whatever future manifestos they produce come election time. With Barisan making mistake after mistake lately and looking increasingly jaded this would be an opportune time for PAS to have taken advantage; but 'foot in mouth disease' seems to be a recurring ailment with PAS.
Pak Lah of course knows all this, and will rest easy for some time until a crisis or two crops up and PAS hopefully will come forward with another brilliant idea. He can always count on them when the chips are down. With an enemy like PAS who needs political friends anymore?
Prime Minister and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sunday shot down plans by the Kelantan government to issue its own currency using the gold dinar and silver dirham. Abdullah, who is attending the World Economic Forum on West Asia here, said state governments were not allowed to issue their own currency. Kelantan State Public Administration, Economic Planning, Finance and Community Development Committee chairman Datuk Husam Musa said Sunday that the Kelantan government would use the gold dinar and silver dirham as currency in three months and even planned to pay state public servants in the currency. The dinar and dirham currency would first be implemented in the state's Islamic system of pawnbroking, Ar-Rahnu, Husam told reporters after opening a seminar on financial economy and Islamic banking in Kota Baharu.-- BERNAMA
What can I say? Just when you think that they have really seen the political light and turned the corner, bang!, straight into a brickwall they go. Only in last night's post I had mentioned that PAS had learnt from it's mistakes and was raring to go. In which direction I only know now! They have taken twists and turns to a new level giving stiff competition even to fast-paced spy thrillers. This decision by PAS presupposes that the Malays are so naive that an unworkable, impractical and unnecessary gimmick like this is going to gain them some ground vis a vis Barisan. It may convince it's hardcore fans that an Islamic Republic is nigh at the 'corridor to Mecca' but otherwise this proposal is destined to go the way of the Dodo.
This is what happens when political parties use religion to gain power. PAS is a political party let there be no doubts on that score and everything it does is calculated to have a political benefit. It has the same type of infighting, political intrigue and skullduggery as any non-religious ones. The difference is that these 'pious' entities have perforce to come up with some outrageous proposal or another to keep it's equally 'pious' members in good humour, such as the present 'Dirham drama'.
When will PAS learn that such tactics are not only a waste of time but it also puts off rational, right thinking Muslims and non-Muslims? At the rate they keep changing direction and speed I doubt if they can be trusted to keep to their promises in whatever future manifestos they produce come election time. With Barisan making mistake after mistake lately and looking increasingly jaded this would be an opportune time for PAS to have taken advantage; but 'foot in mouth disease' seems to be a recurring ailment with PAS.
Pak Lah of course knows all this, and will rest easy for some time until a crisis or two crops up and PAS hopefully will come forward with another brilliant idea. He can always count on them when the chips are down. With an enemy like PAS who needs political friends anymore?
posted by The Malaysian. at 5/22/2006 07:14:00 AM
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