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Date: 19 Aug 1999
Time: 03:51:33
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Islamic Party Plans for Malaysia
AP Photo
Full Coverage Malaysia Political News
By JOCELYN GECKER Associated Press Writer
KOTA BARU, Malaysia (AP) - Here in the rural, northeastern corner of Malaysia, far from the sleek skyscrapers of its modern capital, an Islamic party is nurturing a radically different plan for the future.
Men and women have separate checkout lines at supermarkets in Kelantan state, and lights stay lit at movie theaters to keep couples chaste - all policies imposed by the Parti Islam SeMalaysia, which poses the biggest threat to the government in elections next year.
But its model of an Islamic state stands in stark contrast to the capital, Kuala Lumpur, a monument to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's 18-year rule. And its conservative religious rules clash with the more secular brand of Islam espoused by the majority in Malaysia, a nation of 22 million people composed of ethnic Malays, Chinese and Indians.
A tour of downtown Kota Baru, the capital of Kelantan, gives a glimpse at Malaysia as it might be under Parti Islam SeMalaysia, or PAS, which has run the state since 1990. It is the only state that PAS rules.
At the Lido cinema, a florescent light is kept on during films to prevent couples from kissing or other public displays of affection. Next door, at the Diamond Puteri hotel, a giant swimming pool is drained because city inspectors insist on separate pools for men and women.
Throughout Malaysia, most Malay women cover up in scarves and loose clothing while in public, seen as proper modest attire in Islam. But in Kelantan, headscarves are mandatory for Muslim women in government offices and shops.
Police regularly conduct raids and impose fines at one video shop, which deals solely in pirated tapes. Instead of seizing the illegal wares, however, officers target saleswomen without headscarves.
``I'm on the blacklist, but I won't force people to wear it,'' said shop owner Chris Poh, an ethnic Chinese in the mostly Muslim Malay state.
Noticeably absent in Kota Baru are bars and nightclubs, which are both outlawed. Only Chinese-owned shops can sell alcohol, and women entertainers are barred from performing.
``The Kelantan state government puts women on a pedestal,'' the state's chief minister, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, said in an interview. ``We don't allow them to be exploited.''
For that reason, it will not let women run for election. ``The contest is very rough. It's dangerous to women,'' he said.
Nik Aziz recently announced a new policy not to hire attractive women for government jobs, saying they are more likely to land rich husbands.
``It's to make things more balanced,'' he said. ``We hire the less pretty, unmarried women. Once they're on the job, maybe they can find a husband. Most unmarried women are not pretty, don't you agree?''
Critics have lost no mileage on such talk.
``We are entering the new millennium, and these people are talking like they're living 100 years ago,'' said Ilani Isahak, a woman member of Parliament from Kota Baru who represents Malaysia's ruling United Malays National Organization.
Although the Parti Islam SeMalaysia has only seven seats on the 192-member Parliament, its membership has grown by 50 percent since September, when Mahathir fired his popular deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, and jailed him on corruption charges.
Still, the party will have trouble wooing mainstream Malaysians. Forty percent of the population is not Muslim and women enjoy relative equality.
The Parti Islam SeMalaysia has tried to push harsh Islamic laws, such as the amputation of limbs for certain crimes and death for apostasy. But the federal government and Parliament have vetoed those efforts.
Wong Chun Wai, an editor of The Star newspaper, wrote recently that the party's radical line frightens non-Muslims.
``The Chinese community remains highly suspicious,'' he wrote. ``Politicians must never forget that it is easy to be a leader of a particular race, but difficult to be leader of all Malaysians.''