opinion
When The Sun decided to do a feature on the two 'Serambi Mekah' states, Kelantan and Terengganu, I took the news with great interest.Being born to parents both from Kelantan, and a person interested in politics, I applauded the move by the daily to focus on the two states that are often forgotten by most of us.
The Sun as a newspaper is known to be more open and independent than other established newspapers, in particular The New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia , and to a lesser degree The Star . However, being in the mainstream, it sometimes still tends to be pro-government.
Freedom of the media should mean that the media are free to support a certain party, or to endorse certain politicians, but then all media should be free to do so, and they should be free to support anyone and any party that they like.
In the end, the objective of the media should be to reveal the truth, without fear or favour.
The media has played a big role in influencing many Malaysians, who have not been to Kelantan and Terengganu or have not recently stepped into the two states, to have certain ideas and notions. There seems to be a lot of myths hanging around these two states.
Different culture
Yes, the people of the East Coast sometimes do seem to live in a different world compared to other Malaysians.
Rehman Rashid in his book A Malaysian Journey wrote that if it were up to the Kelantanese, other Malaysians would require passports to visit them.
The people of the East Coast states tend to be very aware of their state of origin, and their culture seems to be different than that of the standard Malay culture that is practised elsewhere.
But when referring to the editorial in The Sun entitled - ' Serambi Mekah - Keeping Islam out of the 21st century' - I beg to differ.
True, compared perhaps to other Malays, or Muslims, people in the East Coast do not place material development as the most important component in general elections.
But is it a simplistic idolisation or hero worship of Nik Aziz and Abdul Hadi Awang that led them to vote differently than the rest of the country? Are they simply choosing to be left out of development and remain poor simply waiting for rewards in the hereafter?
This is a cruel and simplistic insult to the people of Kelantan and Terengganu. I believe, in many ways, they are politically more mature than the rest of us.
While religion, i.e., Islam, has always been an important attraction for their choice during elections, credit must also be given to the PAS state governments of Kelantan and Terengganu in providing a credible administration, both worldly and spiritually.
Islam itself does not ask Muslims to judge their rulers simply due to their virtue in the managing of affairs hereafter, but also affairs related to social justice, transparency, equality and freedom.
Mandate to PAS
Both Kelantan and Terengganu remain the only two states to have voted for a PAS government since our independence. However, the people have not given the mandate to PAS unquestioningly - from 1978 to 1990 Kelantan was under BN while from 1961 to 1999 Terengganu was under BN.
But after giving the mandate to the opposition in 1990, why did the Kelantanese renew it in 1995 and 1999? Many thought that PAS victory in Kelantan in 1990 was due to the Semangat 46 factor, but even when Semangat 46 was disbanded and its members joined Umno, the grip of PAS on the state remained as strong as ever.
Whatever his weaknesses may be, Nik Aziz Nik Mat is a new type of Mentri Besar that others fail to emulate. His moral is unimpeachable, unlike say, the past few Selangor MBs.
While some other MBs are interested in building personal wealth, living in stately homes and driving large expensive cars, Nik Aziz remains largely as he was before he became MB.
His small salary is further divided - part of it donated to PAS and part of it to the state, and he has shown an example to state government officials by not taking any of the allowances.
He continues to live with his family in his wooden kampung house, next to a mosque where he prays and teaches whenever he is available.
Writer Dinsman in completing a video CD project on Nik Aziz commented on how there seemed to be no formal barriers between Nik Aziz and the people.
The degree of openness practised by him has earned praises from many, and up to this day is pretty much unequaled by many BN MBs and ministers.
There is a footage showing him enjoying coffee at a roadside stall together with his driver and bodyguard, chatting without bothering about the protocol that seems to preoccupy many of our politicians.
Supportive non-Malays
Many of us may think that the attraction of the PAS administration in the two states is confined to rural, uneducated, fanatic Malays that seem to be endless in Kelantan and Terengganu. Even non-Malays have generally been supportive of the state governments. Why?
The two state governments have shown their openness in dealing with the minorities in the two states. Chinese schools in Kelantan have been given much better treatment by the PAS government than previously.
Buddhist and Hindu temples previously facing pressure from authorities are given better freedom to pursue their activities; in fact a Hindu temple in Kota Baru was saved from being demolished due to the intervention of the MB.
The Chinese community in Kuala Terengganu has been given more space to practise their culture and reclaim their heritage. But this does not mean that they are without criticisms but generally, they public in these two states consider their present governments to be better than their predecessors.
There also seems to be a simple assumption that the low crime rate in the two states can be attributed to poverty. "There are fewer thieves because there is little to steal." But theft and crime also rise due to greater disparities in wealth, and when there is widespread poverty.
While Selangor, for example, may be a wealthy state, there is also a great disparity of income in the state, between the haves and the haves-not. This causes the high crime rate than the state suffers from.
Authoritarianism losing ground
The 21st century is very much a century for democracy, both for Muslims and others. Throughout the world, and throughout the region, authoritarianism is slowly losing ground.
The BN government seems a bit outdated for this millennium with their disregard for the Constitution and democracy as practised in Malaysia. Their electoral dictatorship, unless reformed from within, could cease to exist soon.
Issues relating to Kelantan and Terengganu are often manipulated by the BN government and basic ideals of democracy ignored. Gas and oil found off-shore in Kelantan is piped across the peninsula to avoid landing in the hands of the state 'as they do not know how to manage them'.
Is that not a decision that should be reached by the people, who have voted strongly for PAS, rather than by the Federal Government? What about the agreement reached between the states, the Federal Government and Petronas regarding petroleum royalties?
Malaysians should emulate the people of Kelantan and Terengganu. Perhaps not in their over-emphasis on religion, but for their political maturity in not fearing to choose another party when the ruling government has not performed up to expectations.
Being politically mature is not excluding themselves from the 21st century as implied by the The Sun 's editorial. There is another side to the story which the daily unfortunately ignored.
NIK NAZMI NIK AHMAD, who is approaching 20, was born in Kuala Lumpur and brought up in Petaling Jaya but speaks Kelantanese at home and enjoys budu enough to be qualified as part-Kelantanese.
