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178 David Kloos

Mariah quit her job in 1998 out of a desire to join the movement, growing
louder and stronger in the wake of the sacking and subsequent arrest of Deputy
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, for social and political reform. She was not the
only one. e so-called Reformasi (‘reform’) movement aroused the interest of
many ‘young educated professional women who used to be apolitical’ (Zaireeni
Azmi 2016: 121). Mariah had been a member of PAS since 1993 but her job
as a civil servant combined badly with an active role in the opposition. Now
that her children had reached a certain age, Mariah gave in to Hajjah Jamilah’s
repeated requests. Together with Dr Lo’ Lo’, she quickly rose to prominence.
5
As professionals, it was their job to be unlike the ‘typical’ muslimat (members
of Muslimat PAS), many of whom had religious backgrounds, were active as
religious teachers or preachers (ustazah), or joined the party mainly because of
their husbands (who were also, in many cases, religious scholars or preachers).
Dress played an important role. In the 1990s, a sartorial style had developed
that was recognised as ‘typically PAS’, with a long surtout (jubah) and a white
rather than black kopiah (close- tting, brimless cap) for men—dress that used
to be associated primarily with pilgrims returning from Mecca—and wide
dresses, socks, and long headscarves covering the front of the body (tudung
labuh) for women. e expectation was that Mariah and other newly recruited
professionals would change this dominant image of excessive outward piety.
For men, this meant a (re-)turn to ‘coat and tie’ (Noor 2014: 158). For
Mariah, who had never worn a tudung labuh, and whose style had always
been ‘light’ (ringkas), it meant experimenting with new colours, materials, and
trendy designs such as the ‘tudung Wardina’, a way of folding the headscarf
named after a famous TV presenter. ‘My wardrobe became very full with many
di erent tudung’, she recalls.
Complicating these attempts at changing the image of the party, however,
was the fact that, in the ideological discourses of the global Islamic revival, every
devout Muslim is seen, potentially or ideally, as a preacher of sorts. While it
was important to look worldly, Mariah explained, outward appearance should
not reach the point where it could be perceived as unlawful embellishing
(tabarruj). ‘Do not adorn yourself (menghiaskan diri). Do not be loud. Do not
be showy.’ Here, Dr Mariah’s account resembles the experiences of numerous
popular or ‘celebrity’ preachers (ustazah seleb) I interviewed. An anecdote
6
emphasizes this point. e rst time Mariah was asked to speak at a party
event, she planned to adopt the common practice (kelaziman) of reciting a
few verses from the Quran and hadith (traditions of the Prophet). Although
she had prepared verses that were very familiar, she felt nervous and awkward.
When the moment came, she failed to get them right. Deeply embarrassed,
she decided that she was ‘not a preacher’ (bukan muballighah) and that it was

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