Malaysia: Pro-Sharia party enters government, sparking fears of “Talibanisation” Mar

Malaysia: Pro-Sharia party enters government, sparking fears of “Talibanisation”

Mar 7, 2020 2:00 pm By Christine Douglass-Williams 3 Comments

Islamization is a global menace. It’s everywhere. The battle in Malaysia, hitherto known as a moderate Muslim country, is over attempts to impose stricter observance of Sharia. In non-Muslim countries, the same initiative advances to impose the Sharia slowly, eroding democratic freedoms.
Malaysia is now reeling, as “PAS has engaged in a lifelong struggle to establish an Islamic state in multiracial Malaysia, and in the last few years has fought hard to amend laws to mete out stiffer penalties for theft, adultery, gambling, consumption of alcohol – unsettling moderate Muslim Malays and non-Muslims alike.”
So now the worry across Malaysia is over the “Talibanisation” of the country. This country that was renowned for its moderate observance of Islam is seeing that moderation erode under pressure from the PAS’ efforts to portray it as unacceptably un-Islamic.

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“Malaysia is now in uncharted waters,” by Amy Chew, Lowy Institute, March 5, 2020:

As Malaysians reeled from the sudden downfall of Mahathir Mohamad, the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin as Prime Minister, and the return of the former ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, of equal significance is the entry of the Islamist Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) into the government.
PAS has engaged in a lifelong struggle to establish an Islamic state in multiracial Malaysia, and in the last few years has fought hard to amend laws to mete out stiffer penalties for theft, adultery, gambling, consumption of alcohol – unsettling moderate Muslim Malays and non-Muslims alike.
Now with PAS in the federal government in a second outing, reformist politicians and social activists are worried, wondering whether this the beginning of the “Talibanisation” of Malaysia.
When Muhyiddin clocked in for work on Monday, a screenshot of a Facebook posting by a purported PAS member made the rounds on social media, calling for PAS to make Malaysia shariah-compliant in a list that carried 22 demands. The list, much of which has already been signalled by PAS through the years, called for Hudud laws, the criminal code of Shariah law, to be implemented.
The tone of the demands sounded like a playbook straight out of Afghanistan under the Taliban.
“No discos in operation. Women will not be allowed to wear sexy clothes anymore. Films and dramas must only carry Islamic theme. Sajat (a local transgender celebrity) and LGBT members must be arrested and flogged.”
“No more sale of alcohol. Drunk drivers must be sentenced to death. Shut down vernacular schools. Jawi [Arabic script] must be made compulsory. RUU 355,” said the post.
“RUU 355” refers to PAS president Hadi Awang’s 2016 Private Member’s Bill 355 in Parliament to increase the powers of the Shariah court by amending the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965. The amendments, if passed, will significantly increase penalties for offences from three years’ jail to 30 years, and six strokes of a cane to 100 lashes. Fines of Malaysian ringgit (RM) 5000 will be increased to RM 100,000.
If the bill is passed, it would be implemented in the east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu, where PAS is the state government.
To date, the bill has failed to be debated in parliament. But with PAS as part of the federal government, the chances of having the bill debated in parliament have increased.
The backdoor entry of PAS into the government has thrown open many possibilities for the Islamist party and its struggle for an Islamic state, with an agenda that will turn Malaysia into a far more conservative society….


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