My successor should be a professional ulama, says Nik Aziz

Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat is on the lookout for a successor and the ageing politician wants the candidate to be both a professional and an ulama (religious scholar).

In a recent interview, he said his decision to rope in former parliamentarians Nik Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah and Husam Musa to contest for state seats in the last elections was the first step of his succession plan.

Nik Amar is the former Pengkalan Chepa MP and now Pancur state assemblyperson while Husam is the former Kubang Kerian MP and now Kijang state assemblyperson.

“Yes, my efforts to bring them back from Parliament was to groom them to replace me later but their future also lies in the hand of the voters in future general elections,” said Nik Aziz when met at his office in Kota Baru recently.

“The people that I have brought back today cannot become menteri besar overnight, they must be trained first, learn how to become a ‘student’ in the state legislative assembly and learn how to generate financial revenue for the state,” added the PAS spiritual leader who has helmed the state since 1990.

However, Nik Aziz when questioned declined to pinpoint his successor. “I can’t say it now, it is not even the (next) general election yet.”

The 73-year-old politician, popularly referred to as ‘Tok Guru’, also did not state specifically when he would step down.

“If the rakyat agree with me and my health condition allows, there is no reason for me not to contest in the coming general election... but this also could be my last term,” he asserted.

Horse riding accident

Quizzed about his health condition, Nik Aziz said he goes for regular check-ups and recalled how a horse riding accident when he was eight had affected his health.

“I won in the horse competition with my brother. I was too excited and raised my hands. Suddenly a lizard crawled across, I was shocked and then fell off the horse,” he reminisced.

Following that, Nik Aziz said he came down with fever that lasted for about four months and even lost his hair.

“So my life is actually hidup mati balik,” he said.

Returning to the succession plan, Nik Aziz said in future there should be no distinction between the ulama and professionals in the party.

He said the schools administered by PAS in Kelantan placed equal emphasis on religious and academic subjects.

“We demand that an ulama is also a professional. It doesn’t matter that we lag behind now, but those who will take over later would not have a division between the two groups,” he added.

Nik Aziz quipped that he belonged to the ‘golongan lama’ (old group) who need the assistance of professionals to run the state.

“So we need professional-ulama who have combined knowledge of both - like graduates from the Al-Azhar university - and this is definitely the party’s future direction,” he added.

He said this would also resolve the ulama - professional divide in the party, which if left unchecked could destroy PAS.

In recent years, professionals who have moved up the hierarchy are seen as indirectly challenging the ulama’s hold on the party while the latter blamed the former for downplaying the Islamic agenda, resulting in PAS’ miserable showing in the last polls.

However, Nik Aziz is convinced that these two factions must work hand in hand.

“Islam says the ulama is needed as well as the professionals. Ulama are to enact policy while professionals are tasked to implement them, politics and religion are undividable,” he said.

DAP should return

Asked about development in Kelantan, the menteri besar said he was grateful to see more investors willing to invest in the state despite of “political pressure”.

“We can see more buildings now and let’s not forget that we have flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Baru every day. How can people say Kelantan is not developed?” he asked.

To another question on the relationship between PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) in the Barisan Alternatif, Nik Aziz said the two parties should ensure the continuance of the alternative front.

“We have to continue the coalition. Even for DAP, I don’t think they should have withdrawn from BA, I hope they would come back and join us,” he added.

The Chinese-predominated DAP pulled out from the coalition in 2001 after crossing swords with PAS over the latter’s insistence to establish an Islamic state. (Malaysiakini)

Media-friendly duo slated to lead Kelantan

Reme Ahmad

KOTA BARU - At the annual general assembly of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) at the weekend, two Kelantan leaders spent time at the large media booth mingling and trading jokes with reporters.

One of them, Mr Mohd Amar Abdullah, left a box of name cards on a table so that everyone can have his mobile phone number.

The other leader, Mr Husam Musa, invited reporters to the beach to ride his four horses.

In their shiny baju Melayu outfits, both were at ease with journalists despite the often negative local media coverage of PAS. Unlike some of the top PAS leaders, the two did not shun the press.

The two 45-year-old men are the front runners to take over the Kelantan leadership from the Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat, 73, who had a heart attack on July 22.

Although they are viewed on the ground as being well suited for their posts, both made it clear that the final decision must be made by the party's top leadership.

Said Mr Mohd Amar, who is a cleric: 'We abide by whatever the leadership decides.'

He is a former lecturer at the International Islamic University and delivers sermons regularly on Islam.

Carrying the title of ustaz (religious teacher), he was often asked to appear on behalf of Datuk Seri Nik Aziz at religious functions. He also served as an MP for two terms.

When the Menteri Besar was seeking a successor last year, Mr Mohd Amar was brought in to contest a state seat in Kelantan. He is now the state executive councillor for information, science, education and technology.

Asked about his stand on women going to work and entertainment for the masses - two issues often raised by Datuk Seri Nik Aziz - Mr Mohd Amar said: 'Women can work but must ensure their families do not lose out. Singing is okay but we must have certain guidelines.'

Mr Husam, who is an economics graduate and a former MP, was also brought into Kelantan recently and is now the state executive councillor for finance. He shone in his role as an MP, asking government ministers tough questions about financial issues.

But he has no chance of being a Menteri Besar because he is not a cleric.

In the party's succession plan, Mr Mohd Amar will become the Menteri Besar of Kelantan while Mr Husam is slated to be the deputy.

In a party dominated by old clerics, the duo represent a crucial generational change being engineered in the background by the leading PAS players.

Kelantan is the only state ruled by PAS and it cannot afford to make a wrong move.

'The leadership change in Kelantan is important for the party. But let us wait and see what comes up,' said a guarded Mr Nasharudin Mat Isa, the PAS secretary-general. Unlike the strict Datuk Seri Nik Aziz, the duo, who are both fiery speakers, are seen as being less uptight about issues.

The popular Datuk Seri Nik Aziz will be a tough act to follow. He is mobbed wherever he goes by people who respect his simple lifestyle and views on Islam. 'We are willing to wheel him around in a wheelchair if that is what it takes for him to continue leading us,' said Kelantan assemblyman Abdul Patah Mahmood.

Umno has a stronger presence in Kelantan now and PAS must work harder if it wants to retain control of the state assembly in the next election. (Asia Media, 30/8/2007)

Starting before the flag-off

Joceline Tan

The general election is still a date in the near future but in Kelantan the battle for control of this highly-political state has begun in earnest.

DATUK Seri Annuar Musa was in his element addressing a close-door meeting of Umno grassroots leaders in Kelantan when he dropped a bombshell.

The Kelantan Umno leader said he was fed up of people thinking he would be the next Mentri Besar of Kelantan.

“People say I am here (as Kelantan Umno chief) because I aspire to be Mentri Besar. Let me tell you that I sometimes feel like vomiting when people say I will be the next Mentri Besar,” he said.

Then he turned towards those seated on the stage and said that the best person for the job was Ketereh MP Datuk Alwi Che Ahmad.

Alwi’s jaw visibly dropped, and everyone burst into laughter at his reaction.

But Annuar was dead serious: “Why do you laugh? I am the state Umno liaison chief. I won’t say such things unless I have received the signal.”

Alwi, who is also the state Umno information head, has since told people that he is not after the Mentri Besar’s post. Instead, he claimed that the more suitable candidate was Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin, the deputy state Umno chief.

“As a Kelantanese, I must choose the best for my state. Awang Adek is better than me,” said Alwi.

But Awang Adek, who is also Deputy Finance Minister, said: “I am happy where I am.”

Something strange is going on because Kelantan politicians, especially those from Umno, are rarely shy about claiming top posts.

Their opponents in PAS claim it is because Umno politicians know they are not going to win in Kelantan, hence there is no point jostling for something that will not be theirs.

For most other states, the election is still a date in the near future. But in Kelantan, the battle for control of the state has begun in some earnest. There are political ceramah every night.

“Every week I go back to Kelantan I see new posters announcing ceramah here and there,” said an Umno political aide.

Kelantan is the most political state in the peninsula and the hot political question is the choice of Mentri Besar for whichever side wins.

However, Umno is not the only one struggling with a succession issue.

Not everyone in PAS shares Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat’s preference for Datuk Husam Musa, an economist by training, as his successor.

Some believe that Nik Aziz’s successor should be another true-blue ulama. Others disagree simply because they have their own camps of support.

There are people in PAS who are envious of Husam’s rapid rise in the party and the special bond he enjoys with the elderly Mursyidul Am or Spiritual Leader. They resent the fact that he wields so much influence over Nik Aziz and has become too powerful.

“The anti-Husam faction in PAS is very real and intense. He feels the heat and finds it unbearable at times because it comes from friends in the jemaah (brethren),” said a long-time friend of Husam.

But Husam is clean, daring in his ideas and stands out as a strategist. Moreover, Nik Aziz has been known to refer to him as “God’s gift to Kelantan”.

“Opposition to Tok Guru’s choice of successor is not a big thing. We intend to win again and Tok Guru will be the Mentri Besar but for how long, only God knows,” said a senior PAS politician in the state.

Meanwhile, the state government has been on an all-out effort to win hearts, announcing aid for single mothers, giving goats to farmers and constructing a racing circuit in Tanah Merah for motoring sports.

But the big hit has been the recently launched Takaful Kifalah or insurance scheme for senior citizens.

The scheme, open to all Kelantanese regardless of race or religion, has not only struck a chord with ordinary people but also the Palace. The Raja Perempuan has given the scheme her royal stamp of approval by launching it at four districts in the last two weeks.

Not to be outdone, Umno has drawn up a string of socio-economic programmes including a counter-insurance scheme that promises wider coverage and better payments.

Politics, like business, needs some competition for the good of the people.

Umno seems to be still adjusting to being the opposition while PAS seems to be suffering from the party-in-power syndrome.

These days, said a PAS political insider, when people talk about YBs going around in flashy cars and having several marriage certificates, it could mean politicians from either side of the divide.

And just as Umno used to be stuck with ageing wakil rakyat who refused to make way for new blood, PAS is also being dragged down by many ulama figures who do not understand that while religious credentials are important, serving the people is just as necessary.

“People in Demit where I live complain that their YB (Datuk Mohamed Daud) is a religious man but does not bother to service his area,” said the political insider.

The elderly Demit assemblyman, better known as Mat Iraq because he studied in Baghdad, prefers to spend his time giving religious lectures and, despite rumblings on the grounds, has no plans to make way for someone more energetic.

Both sides are equally desperate to win Kelantan.

Umno’s top orator Alwi has told audiences at ceramah that all the factors are there for Umno to come back to power.

Umno, he said, has big development plans for the state, the government servants are happy, commodity prices are good and the palace is with Umno.

“I appeal to you. Think about what we have to offer if you have good sense; look around you if you have eyes and listen closely if you have ears and you will surely support us,” he said.

However, some Umno politicians privately admit that if elections were held today, it would be able to hold on to only 17 of the 22 state seats that it now controls.

Earlier, talk that Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah would not be defending his Gua Musang seat in the general election had sent thrills through PAS. If that happened, the seat was as good as theirs.

“Tengku Razaleigh is staying on. The PM has no plans to change things in Gua Musang,” said a Kelantan Umno source.

It is no secret that the royal politician and Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi have not had a comfortable relationship, and more so after Tengku Razaleigh offered himself to be nominated for the president’s post in the 2004 party polls.

But in recent months, there has been a go-between who has played a key role in smoothening ties between the two senior figures.

Tengku Razaleigh, said the source, is no longer any threat to the Umno leadership.

Rather, he is an iconic figure with vast experience and, given his standing as uncle to the Raja Perempuan, he is definitely someone Umno would want on its side.

Relations between Abdullah and Tengku Razaleigh have thawed considerably and both men have more in common than most people think. They come from a period when Malay society and politics were more open and share that same easy social grace and sense of style.

During an Umno meeting in Kelantan earlier this month, the Prince approached the Prime Minister and, with a broad smile and outstretched hand, said: “I believe I’ve yet to congratulate the new bridegroom.”

PAS leaders are very worried about the Eastern Corridor Development Project that the Prime Minister will soon launch.

They are unfazed by political issues and the tactics of local Umno leaders but big-time federal money and schemes are something else. PAS is in trouble if voters buy into this federal trump card.

Some say the social programmes that PAS has begun introducing may be too little too late.

Although Kota Baru is a thriving capital, rural poverty is a still a major problem in the state. Religious piety alone will not be enough for it to secure a strong mandate.

“After 17 years, people expect something more concrete and specific. Our feet are not touching the ground nor are we anywhere near the sky. It’s not a nice feeling,” said an observer. (The Star, 2/9/2007)