Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party - Reaching Out To Non-Muslims

Reaching Out To Non-Muslims

For the most parts of PAS' history, the party has generally only targeted Malay or Muslim supporters. However since the 2004 elections, there has been clear indication of PAS trying to reach out and win the hearts of non-Muslim Malaysians by way of moderation. During the leading up to the 2008 elections, PAS had rarely mentioned about the setting up of an Islamic state, which has been one of the party's main objective throughout the history. The call for an Islamic state to be imposed in Malaysia has been one of the biggest fears of the non-Muslim population. The party had also used the motto Pas For All to woo non-Muslim supporters.

For example, Khalid Abdul Samad, a lawmaker from PAS representing Shah Alam, has made rare visits to a church and temples to reassure non-Muslim minorities on their religious rights after the March election in 2008. In a later interview with online news portal IslamOnline.net, PAS Research Centre head Dr. Dzulkefly Ahmad would come to describe this as a "substantive approach" i.e. by incorporating Islamic elements of justice and fair play in state administration, rather than get embroiled in what he termed "(mere) semantics".