SEPTEMBER 6 ― Kelantan and Terengganu see each other as brothers, as long as the latter looks up to the former as an older sibling. Seniority in a fundamentalist environment is doubly dastardly.

Which is why in the aftermath of the lesbian canings in Kuala Terengganu, amid the scratching of heads worldwide over this sadistic (non-consensual and definitely non-pleasurable) ritual for the female couple on the east coast, its economically irrelevant neighbour Kelantan was busy raising the stakes.

They plan to cane them all — fornicators, sodomisers, intoxicated party animals and even more lesbians — at the stadium. Smaller than Teheran Stadium, but what Kota Bharu Stadium lacks in size it will make up in cheer, they’ll show the Shiites.

While I am inflamed by the shenanigans on the east coast, I  have more immediate concerns about how religiosity is presented as the greatest currency for votes.

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That while PAS and Pakatan Harapan have jostled for the crown of most backwards when it comes to moralising, Umno, the third force in an even contest for Muslim votes, has squirmed away from the cutting edge of self-righteousness. 

The old party sits out this one, while Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin whips up liberal sentiments as notional participation from the right to the right side of history.

A Pribumi leader friend took umbrage at my scathing words against the social conservativism and economic panders at the poorly-named Bumiputera Economic Congress. He said there is realpolitik, and critics must consider the next general election where the Malay vote decides.

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If realpolitik, pragmatic politics, is demanded, then let’s not wade into conceptual ambiguities, and stay real.

Here’s a statement, no party ever won all the votes of any community, even if they are only of the community and speak only about the community day in, day out till they go blue in their faces. Because the community’s population will find a reason to differ. A human glitch, if it must be explained.

What’s hilarious is Pakatan’s single-mindedness to appease those fundamentally opposed to them and multiculturalism by upsetting the multiculturalists who support the coalition.

Pakatan assumes two premises; one, non-Muslim votes are a perpetual lock because seriously who’d love PAS or Umno?; and two, winning half plus one of the Malay votes is a requirement for stable power.

The first one is Bambi naïve.

Sure, BN’s overreach to conservatism was off-putting, and Pakatan benefitted by being not BN. But Pakatan risks a reversal, if its Amanah ministers continue to pontificate at the masses.

Votes are fluid. Voters are fickle. Democracy is a bitch. Go deal with it. Don’t tempt fate.

But the second has an extension. All Malay votes are a must, and the extension, they respond to sanctimonious rantings, as in moral overzealousness.

The column warns this, beat women in public over what are personal and private choices, be ready for a mighty reverse back-kick.

While it is PAS ruled Kelantan, in a two-horse race with PAS ruled Terengganu, Pakatan’s Amanah’s overt support for the canings — while an obvious play to compete with PAS which it splintered from — places the coalition in a precarious position.   

Pakatan might want to consider the following as it charts forward.

While the fundamentalist base appears large due to its loudness, pride and certainty based on dousing any doubt about its methods, it is nowhere close to the quiet Malay liberal majority. They appear small because they are spread, luxuriating in their own playgrounds of interests — as they should.

They’d buy tickets to watch Malaysia beat Indonesia in a Sea Games football semi-finals, not to see overeager misogynists smack their daughters on an open field to feed mob-frenzy. 

They are skaters, weekend dirt-bike riders, beach frolickers, Sunway Lagoon escapists, movie buffs, indie band groupies, karaoke junkies, hillside slope romantics, jungle trek naturalists and even social media chat addicts. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. They are many, they just don’t have a joint mailing list.

Not one needs to tell them that civil liberties are withdrawn one indulgence at a time. That’s how the fundamentalist couch their encroachment. They sermonise, society can do without one more activity, one at a time, till all that remains is an overarching domineering state bent on goodness as it sees fit for all citizens.

This is to say, liberal Malays, the silent majority, are not cheerleaders for the lesbian couple, but they understand rights are removed in stages. The opponents use each precedent as licence to strike off twice the indiscretions present.

The larger population, all Malaysians, don’t care much about personal lifestyle choices. They are wary about those who want to impose their strict religious interpretations on the rest.

Pakatan should take heed of Umno’s passivity regarding this. There is no need to feed a group never to agree to liberal norms, the direction the world steadily heads to — the universe which enjoys Thanos’ destruction on IMAX rather than moral battles on CNN where combatants spew about infidels.

There is no such thing as going for all the Malay votes. The growing demography only means there will be even more segments, and no, it’s not any Chinese party’s clever scheming. The larger the group more naturally splinters in values emerge.

What Pakatan has to see is that it can easily persuade a large section of Malaysians by not competing with PAS. It must give up on the votes PAS never will lose for now. Amanah has to evolve its relevance not relegate itself to its old base.

Because at this rate, Pakatan will become strange to its own voters far sooner than expected.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.