The Kedah Umno‐PAS Struggle

Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) or the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party had never won any seac in Kedah before 1969. The tide turned, however, in the 1969 elections when PAS achieved a major breakthrough. It won eight out of twenty-four state seats and three out of twelve parliamentary seats. Thus PAS obtained41.55 % of the votes for the state seats and 44.06% of the votes for the parliamentary seats. This was an impressive twofold increase compared to the 1959 (23.44%) and the 1964 (25.21%) elections. In a triumphant mood, PAS therefore had high expectations for the approaching 1974 elecdons. Hence, Kedah PAS strongly opposed its leaders who urged their joining the Barisan Nasional (National Front, NF) in 1974. Despite the strong objections from Kedah PAS, the national leadership agreed to join the Nadonal Front in a coalition in 1972 to face the 1974 elecdons. It was then, ironically, that Kedah PAS stalwarts such as Ismail Kassim (State Legisladve Councillor for Bukit Raya) and Sudin Wahab (State Legislative Councillor for Langgar Limbong) accepted appointments as State Execudve Councillors (Exco) after PAS was in the Nadonal Front. These Councillors were the two main personalides who had vehemently opposed PAS's entry into the Nadonal Front. Were their appointments a means of reducing polidcking between the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and PAS? Or was it part of a manoeuvre to tame the PAS opposition? It is still not entirely clear what the purpose of such a coalition move was ? to gain co-operation in order to concentrate on development programmes or to politically absorb PAS and benefit UMNO's standing? What was evident was that, when PAS joined the National Front, there was a honeymoon period for UMNO and PAS in Kedah. Several development projects were able to be introduced because the Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampong (Village Development and Security Committee or JKKK) included both PAS and UMNO members or supporters. As such, conflicts between UMNO and PAS were much reduced. As a result of a political crisis in Kelantan at the end of 1977, PAS left the National Front. Following this, PAS suffered a major defeat in the 1978 Kelantan State election. After this humiliating defeat, the PAS national leadership envisioned Kedah as its next alternative base. This expectation was not fulfilled because they miscalculated the strength of UMNO in Kedah. What really happened was that UMNO rectified its strategy and learned a lesson from its defeat in the 1969 elections. UMNO had fortified itself to prepare for the onslaught of the 1978 elections. It is interesting to observe that UMNO made the same blunder in facing PAS during the 1959 elections in Kelantan. None the less, the defeat in Kelantan did not affect PAS's standing as a political party in Kedah. It maintained its position in the 1978 State and Federal elections despite earlier speculation that Kedah PAS would suffer the same fate as its counterpart in Kelantan. The 1978 elections in Kedah were politically important in the UMNO-PAS struggle because it was the first electoral fight by Dr. Mahathir Mohamed in Kedah since his

Political science · Asian Studies and History · Education and Islamic Studies · Linguistic, Cultural, and Literary Studies

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