Pundits: PPBM recruiting religious scholar as ‘damage control’, to protect Muslim interests

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (PPBM) decision to recruit popular religious scholar Abu Hafiz Salleh Hudin is a bid to align itself with Islamic values and protect Muslim interests.

Political analysts have suggested the move is a way for the party to court voters from the faith.

But National Professors Council’s Political, Security and International Affairs Cluster secretary Datuk Abdul Halim Sidek suggested that the move may even be a damage control measure for the party to counter controversial statements by their senior leaders on Islam.

“The move by PPBM was to counter the damage Dr Mahathir made to the party. They did so to convince their supporters that the party does champion Islam and is not too Western or ‘liberal’.

“As the general elections is closing in, the parties are making efforts to convince voters that they can be trusted to gain their votes,” he told Malay Mail.

He gave the example of PPBM chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who last Tuesday wrote a blog post on things that are “halal” or permissible in Islam, and questioned if pork will be forbidden to Muslims if the pig was slaughtered in the name of God.

In the post, Dr Mahathir said many people told him not to comment on Islamic matters as he did not study theology nor speak Arabic.

Geopolitical expert Azmi Hassan said the recruitment of Abu Hafiz would benefit the party by helping it gain supporters since it seemed to lack religious credentials.

“All political parties, including DAP, need religious scholars in their bandwagon to ensure their principle is aligned with religious values.

“For example, Umno is synonymous with Asyraf Wajdi, and DAP maybe with Wan Ji, so it is not surprising that PPBM follows this strategy,” said Azmi in reference to Umno supreme council member Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki and Muslim preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin.

Asyraf Wajdi is also a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department handling Islamic affairs while Wan Ji is information officer to the Penang chief minister tasked with explaining the state's Islamic policies.

“Compared to other Malay-majority parties, it is obvious that PPBM lacks religious credentials,” Azmi added.

Hesaid since Parti Amanah Negara, a splinter of Islamist party PAS, already has many scholars among its members, it would be an uphill task for PPBM to upstage its fellow Pakatan Harapan component in appearing more religious.

According to Abdul Halim, the move was targeted towards the Malay-Muslim voters, as a way to distinguish the party among choices for the demographic which also include Umno, Amanah, and PKR.

“PPBM is seen to be more nationalistic and a splinter of Umno. Now they need to rectify the damage and exploit the whole situation to their advantage to gain the support,” he said.

Political analyst Datuk Samsu Adabi Mamat said it is a norm for Malay or Muslim-based parties to prioritise values that are in line with Islamic principles, such as dignity, ethics, and integrity.

“These principles would be in line with PPBM’s tagline and would be an important asset for the survival of the party in the long run.

“This would also garner the interest of supporters inclined towards championing the Malay-Muslims rights and would help the party to entice the voters,” said the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer.

PPBM had recently recruited 29-year-old religious scholar Abu Hafiz as deputy chair of the party’s Strategy and Policy Bureau.

Abu Hafiz, who has over 4,000 followers at his own Facebook page, is currently pursuing his doctorate in Islamic Studies and Thought at Universiti Sains Malaysia.