Assuming PAS as a rural based party is only part of the story. A large portion of PAS supporters among the Malays are professionals, intellectuals and business owners who live and work in urban areas and big cities such as KL, Penang and JB. However knowing these urban areas would probably go to PH, most PAS urban supporters choose to vote outside these urban areas, hence the massive 'balik undi di kampung' traffic jams to rural areas during every general elections.
Another thing is UMNO does have a large presence in the rural areas. Where there is PAS, there will also be UMNO. In fact, up to 2018, most Felda settlers have more UMNO supporters compared to PAS. What happened was many of the UMNO supporters have turned to support PAS and PN. Most of UMNO grassroot supporters sees the only alternative to UMNO is PAS. PKR and Amanah does not register to them. Thus the massive swing of votes from UMNO supporters to PAS and PN during GE15.
What is left of UMNO now are mostly sons and daughters of former UMNO leaders who, being in a position of power until 2018, used to live an affluent lifestyle detached from the realities of ordinary Malays and Malaysian. This alienate UMNO much further from the majority Malays into the fold of PAS and PN.
Pas today is a party led by conservative muslims. Hadi is a political leader that is rightly guided by the koran. He is into virtues and find fulfillment in doing good over evil.
Pas voters sees hadi as an example to follow and they respect him.
On the other hand, zahid and anwar are seen as the deceivers.
To pas voters, anwar are present day dajjal and see him as syaitans who promises sweet nothing to everyone and delivers only misery to the people.
Only a small percentage of PAS supporters are really Islamic conservatives. The average PAS supporters are ordinary Malays who are neither ultra religious nor ultra liberals. This includes many government servants who have seen firsthand how UMNO leaders abuse powers for their own self-interests.
Why many Malays swing to support PAS are mainly because of the deep corruption and extravagance lifestyle of UMNO leaders at the national, state and local level as well as mistrust of PH especially DAP.
PAS is not that bad. In fact, Pas leader actually very capable and fair to all. All state GLC's are professionally managed and start to record profits, which is a good indicator of good governance of state administrative. PAS is not only Hadi Awang. Should look beyond him.
Food for thought here. It's easy, from an urban bubble, to condemn the PAS-influenced Malays or to see them as an existential threat to any prospect of a liberal, forward thinking Malaysia. I agree that it is impossible to convince them of the benefits of secularism since it would deny their core sense of identity, so perhaps the only way is to minimise their influence by doing something about rural weightage.
PAS rural investment in the villages all across the country in setting up religious schools for example occupies the prominent mind-scape and consciousness of the rural attitude and mindset. This time of indoctrination constitutes the ocean of the collective mind of the country side majority from young to old including the UNDI 18 youthful lots. When "outsiders" like UMNO and PKR try to influence the hardcore PAS supporters to switch allergen only during election is like a few drops of fresh water in hoping to transform the mind set which has been indoctrinated with PAS ideologies- whether rational or logical or not is not important to them, hence your statement that PAS is a garrison impossible to infiltrate. Albert Einstein would have heartily agreed with your proclaim statement that , " prejudice is harder to crack than an atom"
But PAS is not invincible and the present strong support it enjoys can be topple. The irrational and narrow interpretation of political Islam according to PAS ideology can suffer the same fate as past empire.
“Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
― H.L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”
― Alexander Fraser Tytler
“Politics: the art of using euphemisms, lies, emotionalism and fear-mongering to dupe average people into accepting--or even demanding--their own enslavement.”
― Larken Rose
To break the strong hold of PAS in the rural folks, it is not easy, but still can be done. Invest in prenatal psychology. If every new born baby of about over 1000 in number born daily here is Malaysia is filled with music, figure, word, number all sound, voice, stimuli scientific and reasonable as a foundation in the mind of the yet unborn child, this initial foundation once rooted in the brain cells of the unborn, the destiny of the child is set for greatness. That's the pathway to greatness enjoys by all child prodigies . Even baby crocodile can be tamed to live in peace and harmony with a colony of ducklings. Just put a crocodile egg to be hatched with the rest of the duck eggs, after the baby crocodile and ducklings are matured and set free from the egg-shells, let both species live together, after a while they will eat, swim,play and sleep together in peace for all to see. To watch the evidence just google youtube for crocodile and duck video living in peace. The story happens in a China village. If vicious crocodile can be transformed, from before birth, so can human baby as a creature with higher intelligence.
Assuming PAS as a rural based party is only part of the story. A large portion of PAS supporters among the Malays are professionals, intellectuals and business owners who live and work in urban areas and big cities such as KL, Penang and JB. However knowing these urban areas would probably go to PH, most PAS urban supporters choose to vote outside these urban areas, hence the massive 'balik undi di kampung' traffic jams to rural areas during every general elections.
Another thing is UMNO does have a large presence in the rural areas. Where there is PAS, there will also be UMNO. In fact, up to 2018, most Felda settlers have more UMNO supporters compared to PAS. What happened was many of the UMNO supporters have turned to support PAS and PN. Most of UMNO grassroot supporters sees the only alternative to UMNO is PAS. PKR and Amanah does not register to them. Thus the massive swing of votes from UMNO supporters to PAS and PN during GE15.
What is left of UMNO now are mostly sons and daughters of former UMNO leaders who, being in a position of power until 2018, used to live an affluent lifestyle detached from the realities of ordinary Malays and Malaysian. This alienate UMNO much further from the majority Malays into the fold of PAS and PN.
Pas today is a party led by conservative muslims. Hadi is a political leader that is rightly guided by the koran. He is into virtues and find fulfillment in doing good over evil.
Pas voters sees hadi as an example to follow and they respect him.
On the other hand, zahid and anwar are seen as the deceivers.
To pas voters, anwar are present day dajjal and see him as syaitans who promises sweet nothing to everyone and delivers only misery to the people.
Only a small percentage of PAS supporters are really Islamic conservatives. The average PAS supporters are ordinary Malays who are neither ultra religious nor ultra liberals. This includes many government servants who have seen firsthand how UMNO leaders abuse powers for their own self-interests.
Why many Malays swing to support PAS are mainly because of the deep corruption and extravagance lifestyle of UMNO leaders at the national, state and local level as well as mistrust of PH especially DAP.
This is true. 👍
PAS is not that bad. In fact, Pas leader actually very capable and fair to all. All state GLC's are professionally managed and start to record profits, which is a good indicator of good governance of state administrative. PAS is not only Hadi Awang. Should look beyond him.
Food for thought here. It's easy, from an urban bubble, to condemn the PAS-influenced Malays or to see them as an existential threat to any prospect of a liberal, forward thinking Malaysia. I agree that it is impossible to convince them of the benefits of secularism since it would deny their core sense of identity, so perhaps the only way is to minimise their influence by doing something about rural weightage.
PAS rural investment in the villages all across the country in setting up religious schools for example occupies the prominent mind-scape and consciousness of the rural attitude and mindset. This time of indoctrination constitutes the ocean of the collective mind of the country side majority from young to old including the UNDI 18 youthful lots. When "outsiders" like UMNO and PKR try to influence the hardcore PAS supporters to switch allergen only during election is like a few drops of fresh water in hoping to transform the mind set which has been indoctrinated with PAS ideologies- whether rational or logical or not is not important to them, hence your statement that PAS is a garrison impossible to infiltrate. Albert Einstein would have heartily agreed with your proclaim statement that , " prejudice is harder to crack than an atom"
But PAS is not invincible and the present strong support it enjoys can be topple. The irrational and narrow interpretation of political Islam according to PAS ideology can suffer the same fate as past empire.
“Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance. No one in this world, so far as I know—and I have researched the records for years, and employed agents to help me—has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people. Nor has anyone ever lost public office thereby.”
― H.L. Mencken, Notes on Democracy
“A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world's greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.”
― Alexander Fraser Tytler
“Politics: the art of using euphemisms, lies, emotionalism and fear-mongering to dupe average people into accepting--or even demanding--their own enslavement.”
― Larken Rose
To break the strong hold of PAS in the rural folks, it is not easy, but still can be done. Invest in prenatal psychology. If every new born baby of about over 1000 in number born daily here is Malaysia is filled with music, figure, word, number all sound, voice, stimuli scientific and reasonable as a foundation in the mind of the yet unborn child, this initial foundation once rooted in the brain cells of the unborn, the destiny of the child is set for greatness. That's the pathway to greatness enjoys by all child prodigies . Even baby crocodile can be tamed to live in peace and harmony with a colony of ducklings. Just put a crocodile egg to be hatched with the rest of the duck eggs, after the baby crocodile and ducklings are matured and set free from the egg-shells, let both species live together, after a while they will eat, swim,play and sleep together in peace for all to see. To watch the evidence just google youtube for crocodile and duck video living in peace. The story happens in a China village. If vicious crocodile can be transformed, from before birth, so can human baby as a creature with higher intelligence.