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176 David Kloos

religious interpretations with a professional outlook, as expressed through the
use of certain language and dress. In response, PAS leaders emphasized that
4
their party was guided by ulama (religious scholars) and that, in their hands,
Islamic norms were safe from detrimental compromises, pragmatic moderation
and surrender to western-style capitalism and consumption.
In the run-up to the 1999 elections, UMNO tried to discredit PAS by
consistently portraying its competitor as out of touch with modern realities.
Part of this strategy was to ‘[paint] PAS as unsupportive of women’s rights’
(Ng, Maznah, and tan 2006: 96). Pushed to the defensive, and feeling pressure
within the party as well, leaders, including party President Fadzil Noor and
Kelantan Chief Minister and PAS ‘spiritual leader’ Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat
agreed to create more space for women. Wary of resistance from conservative
elements in the party, they operated cautiously. Instead of elding women
candidates immediately, they prepared the ground by appointing female
senators and allowing the women’s wing (Dewan Muslimat PAS) to strengthen
its operations, attract women with professional and leadership skills, and act
more autonomously from the male leadership. A key driving force in this
process was Hajjah Jamilah Ibrahim, head of Muslimat PAS from 1992-2001
and a senator from 1997–2000. Among the women she recruited were Dr
Mariah Mahmud and Dr Lo’ Lo’ Mohd Ghazali (also a medical doctor), both
of whom were elected to the party’s central executive committee in 2001. More
visible in the eyes of the public was the decision to eld ten women candidates
in the 2004 election. Dr Mariah and Dr Lo’ Lo’ were both defeated, but,
as mentioned, Kalthom Othman won a seat in parliament, as did Rohani
Ibrahim at the state level, both of them in Kelantan.
If 2004 was a breakthrough year in terms of women’s candidacy, for PAS
and the opposition as a whole, the election was a disaster from the opposition’s
point of view. e ruling coalition, led by new prime minister and UMNO
leader Abdullah Badawi, won a landslide victory. e crisis sparked a rather
sharp divide within PAS between a reform-minded, relatively progressive
faction known as the golongan professional, ‘professionals group’, and a
conservative faction known as the golongan ulama, ‘ulama group’ (see Noor
2014: 188–9, 199–210; Müller 2014: 72–8). Leadership positions, including
the board of the women’s wing, shifted back and forth between factions until,
nally, at the 2015 party congress, the progressive faction su ered a decisive
blow. Emphasizing its power, the conservative faction, led by President Abdul
Hadi Awang, severed formal ties between PAS and the Democratic Action
Party (DAP), thereby blowing up the opposition alliance, Pakatan Rakyat
(People’s Pact, PR). In response, a large number of progressive leaders and

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