Diverse voices: Malaysia is a complex, outward-looking trading nation of more than 30 million people. Can PAS win the non-Malay votes? — AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star
PAS is now riding high and, in fact, regards itself as a possible contender for the prime minister’s post after the next general election.
The Islamist party is already openly talking about key Cabinet positions that it wants.
It is convinced that the partnership with Umno using the Malay unity narrative is sufficient to win the predominantly Malay electorate – and Malaysia.
The ambition of the party isn’t something to be dismissed. PAS is already the party with the biggest number of parliamentary seats in Dewan Rakyat, with 43 out of the 222 seats.
That is 20% of the entire Dewan Rakyat, which makes PAS the biggest opposition party, and its numbers can possibly increase.
At state level, it has control of four states: Perlis, Kedah, Terengganu, and Kelantan. But almost all its seats are predominantly Malay majority parliamentary and state seats.
The reality is, PAS has mastered the art of winning elections by speaking to the Malay-Muslim heart.
Now comes the much harder part. It has to convince the rest of Malaysia that it can govern a country that is not exclusively Malay, Muslim, or rural.
It must convince Malaysians it can govern, not just preach. That is a very different proposition.
The Islamist party can celebrate its electoral gains, and it should. Its rise is a reflection of the growing political strength of Malay voters and the failure of its rivals to adequately address their concerns.
But winning votes is not the same as winning confidence and this is where PAS still has a mountain to climb.
Most of its leaders, especially the powerful theologians who control the party, come from the Malay rural heartland.
Their world view is entirely different from those in the urban areas and it won’t be wrong to suggest that they never grew up or interacted in a diverse lifestyle unlike many Umno leaders, who are at ease with other communities.
PAS has never been able to find the answers to winning over the non-Muslims.
The statements made by the party have not reassured non-Muslims, similar to the insensitive response made by some DAP leaders which touches raw nerves among Muslims.
For many non-Malays and non-Muslims, the increasingly prominent religious PAS agenda does not provide reassurance. It creates questions – and, in some cases, genuine anxiety.
PAS should not be surprised by this. When politicians repeatedly talk about strengthening religious laws, morality, and Islamic governance, non-Muslim Malaysians naturally ask: Where do we fit in this vision of Malay-sia?
The perception of non-Muslims is that the party is impatient to push its religious agenda.
Most non-Malays are not impressed by the party’s performances in running its four states nor do they recall the lawmakers’ contributions in financial and economic matters in Parliament.
Non-Malays have legitimate questions in a country as diverse as Malaysia. It will not be wise or effective if PAS simply dismisses these as the fears of people who do not understand Islam.
If PAS wants to lead Malaysia, it must understand the concerns of Malaysians who do not share its political interpretation of Islam.
More importantly, PAS needs to realise that religion is not an economic policy. Kelantan, which it has ruled by decades, cannot even provide decent clean water, create better-paying jobs nor attract high-value foreign investment.
Malaysians want to know how PAS can lead the country if it is in charge.
Can it reform the education system, solve the brain drain, make our ports more competitive, build a technology industry, and make Malaysia a regional centre for artificial intelligence, digital services, advanced manufacturing or research?
These are the bread-and-butter issues that determine whether a country moves forward.
PAS has been governing states for years. It now controls four. The party therefore has every opportunity to show Malaysians what PAS-style governance can deliver. This is where the party needs to be much more convincing.
The latest economic figures from these states, however, are hardly a ringing endorsement of any dramatic transformation.
According to the latest Depart-ment of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) figures, released in 2026, Malaysia’s economy expanded by 5.2% in 2025. Kedah grew by 4.1%, Perlis by 2.0%, Kelantan by 4.1%, and Terengganu by 1.6%.
Terengganu is particularly striking as its growth fell sharply from 4.5% in 2024 to just 1.6% in 2025. Manufacturing contracted 1.2% and construction fell 5.8%.
Perlis also slowed considerably from 3.2% to 2.0%, with its construction sector contracting by 8.2%.
Kedah saw a slight improvement with a 4.1% growth although slightly below its 4.2% in 2024, while Kelantan grew from 3.3% to 4.1% in 2025. However, the four states together did not come close to matching Malaysia’s 5.2% growth in 2026, with Terengganu and Perlis particularly weak.
In 2025, Malaysia’s GDP per capita was RM59,167 while the four states were well behind: Terengganu RM32,657, 45% below national level; Kedah RM28,537, 52% below; Perlis RM25,089, 58% below; and Kelantan RM18,085, 69% below.
In other words, Kelantan’s GDP per capita was barely 31% of Malaysia’s. Even Terengganu was substantially below the national figure, according to DOSM.
To be fair, GDP per capita is not household income and cannot by itself be used to judge a state government’s performance, but it is nevertheless useful for showing the structural economic gap.
By comparison, Perak grew 5.7%, Selangor 6.3%, Penang 7.3% and Johor 8%.
For the 2024 household income survey, the ranking is revealing: Kelantan is at the bottom of all states while Kedah is second last.
The real question that needs to be asked is not whether PAS alone is responsible for poverty or underdevelopment as federal policies, geography, historical investment patterns, infrastructure and others matters.
But after decades of controlling Kelantan, and years of controlling Kedah, Perlis and Terengganu, what is PAS’ economic model for transforming these states into high-income, investment-driven economies?
Malaysians should be asking PAS: If it cannot manage its four states, what are its plans for the country?
The problem for PAS is that its political narrative has often been much stronger about what society should not do than about what the economy should do.
It is easier to talk about morality than productivity, easier to campaign against concerts than to create a semiconductor cluster, easier to debate dress codes than to build an ecosystem for high-paying technology jobs, easier to talk about vice than to explain how to attract international investors. It’s also much easier to just promise a ticket to heaven for voting PAS.
But running a country requires much more than telling people how they should behave. It requires making the country work.
Malaysia is a complex, outward-looking trading nation of more than 30 million people. It has Muslims, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs and people of other beliefs with Malays, Chinese, Indians, Kadazandusun, Iban and dozens of other communities.
More importantly, it is an economy deeply connected to China, the United States, Europe, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and the rest of Asean.
So the party needs to offer something much bigger than an Islamic political programme.
Perhaps most importantly, it needs to reassure non-Muslims that they have nothing to fear from a PAS-led Malaysia.
If it wants Putrajaya, it cannot campaign as though Malaysia is a collection of Kelantans, Terengganus, Kedahs and Perlises.
The voices and aspirations of people in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor, Selangor, Sabah and Sarawak need to be heard.
Until PAS can answer those questions convincingly, it should not assume that electoral momentum automatically translates into a mandate to govern Malaysia.
