GEORGE TOWN – PAS is too conservative and lacking in experience handling an advanced and multiracial economy to lead Penang, say observers from the political and business sectors.
Amidst bickering within its coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) about which party should lead the state, the observers also pointed out that PAS is still unable to attract Chinese support.
Political analyst Associate Professor Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) said Penangites can expect moral policing and implementation of syariah-compliant regulations to be at the top of PAS’ agenda, pointing to policies such as lottery bans and formation of anti-vice squads as it has done in the states it leads.
The analyst also noted that PAS only managed to get a foothold in mainland Penang in the 2023 state elections due to its strong Malay presence there.
“It can never wrest control of the state government without winning seats on the island. It means gaining the trust of the non-Malay majority on the island, (which is) a mountain too high for PAS.
“PAS’ hardline conservatism is already turning off most, if not all, non-Muslims. Its attacks on non-Muslim leaders make the party even more unpalatable to non-Muslims,” he told Scoop when contacted.
PN holds 11 state seats in Penang, with seven under PAS and four under Bersatu.
Meanwhile, Penang Umno deputy chief Datuk Shaik Hussein Mydin said PAS was more fixated on racial issues instead of economic matters, which he said could be attributed to a lack of capable leaders within its ranks.
“The 11 assemblymen from PN (in Penang) are not capable of leading a multiracial state like Penang”, he told Scoop when contacted.
Penang PAS leaders, including state chapter commissioner Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff and Penang PAS information chief Muhammad Fawwaz Mohamad Jan, recently suggested PAS could be considered the coalition leader in Penang based on the number of seats it controls.
The leadership debate has sparked tensions within PN, with other component parties Gerakan and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) disputing which party should lead the coalition in the state. This follows reports of PN planning to focus on Malay and Indian voters to secure a slim majority in the next state election.
Umno’s Shaik said PAS would need more non-Malay support in Penang in order to govern the state.
For this, it would need more members of the professional class in its ranks, but this is lacking, especially in the youth and women’s wings, he added.
“Additionally, PAS also needs more young, capable leaders.
“The party also needs good partners, which Bersatu and Gerakan (are found lacking),” Shaik added.
Managing Penang’s economy
Penang is a hub for investors in electrical and engineering and semiconductor production, but PAS’ experience in governing a state to date has so far only been the more rural and Malay-majority economies of Kelantan, Perlis and Kedah. It is also the state government in Terengganu, which has an oil and gas industry.
Hisham Abdul Hamid, the chairman of the youth chapter of the Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (DPMM), feels PAS is unfit to administer Penang’s multiracial and advanced economy.
The state’s economy requires multiracial players to mobilise it and a multiracial state government to administer it, he told Scoop.
“PAS does not have prior experience in administering Penang. Historically, Penang has always been administered by multiracial political parties.
“If (Penang) is administered by PAS, the economy could get worse due to its poor management (style) when we look at states led by PAS such as Kelantan and Kedah,” he said.
Hisham also said that the economic performance of PAS-led states is not on par with states led by Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan such as Johor, Penang and Selangor.
Putrajaya still controls economic levers
However, economist Professor Emeritus Barjoyai Bardai of the Malaysia University of Science and Technology (MUST) said PAS’ ability to administer a state economy should not be so quickly dismissed.
He cited Kedah, which has a huge, vibrant semiconductor industry at the Kulim Hi-Tech Industrial Park, which is the second most important tech industrial park in the northern region after the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone (FIZ) in Penang.
“Furthermore, Terengganu is now very well managed, with (petroleum) industry developing (in the state) with Petronas (operating) there, and that they have started developing ports and working on the rare earth (extraction),” he told Scoop.
Barjoyai also said in the discourse on which party is best to lead a state’s economy, it should be remembered that Putrajaya still plays a big role in managing the economies of all states in the federation.
He pointed out that states’ roles are mostly focused on managing local governments.
“If you notice, Selangor and even Penang were managed well although they were led by (previously) opposition parties. This is because the federal government is essentially making most of the effort (in developing these states economies),” he added. – February 13, 2025