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198 Hew Wai Weng

blessing for all. Since 1998, when the sacking and jailing of Anwar Ibrahim
sparked o the Reformasi (reformation) movement in Malaysia, some activists
from what is now IKRAM joined opposition politics, mainly in PAS and
PKR. Working closely with other progressive PAS leaders, IKRAM activists
transformed PAS into a more inclusive party. Indeed, some conservative PAS
leaders accused these progressive leaders of ‘mengikramkan PAS’ (Ikramising
PAS) and ‘making PAS too liberal’. After the split within PAS in 2015, together
with former progressive PAS leaders, IKRAM activists played a vital role in
forming Amanah. Almost half the grassroots leaders of Amanah have IKRAM
backgrounds and many other members campaigned for PH, especially for
Amanah candidates, in GE14. Instead of an ‘Islamic state’, IKRAM proposed
the idea of a ‘negara rahmah’ (compassionate state), in line with Amanah’s
idea of ‘compassionate Islam’. Following GE14, a few members of the PH
cabinet have IKRAM backgrounds, including Minister of Health Dzulke y
Ahmad (Amanah) and Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department
(Religious A airs) Fuziah Salleh (PKR).
Lastly, even though its exclusionary messages do not represent the views
of many Malay-Muslims, ISMA has made news headlines for its controversial
statements, for example, insulting Chinese Malaysians by calling them
pendatang (immigrants). ISMA shares features with IKRAM, as both groups
are in uenced by the Muslim Brotherhood and members of both are mostly
educated, urban, middle-class, and professional Muslims. Yet ISMA is more
Malay-centric and less inclusive than IKRAM. ISMA has tried to stimulate
moral panic over such issues as LGBT rights and alcohol consumption,
including through online campaigns, and encourages a siege mentality among
Malay-Muslims over issues such as alleged ‘Christianisation’ and losing political
power to ‘foreigners’. In the 13th general election (GE13), ISMA contested in
some seats as a ‘third force’ under the ag of BERJASA (Pan-Malaysian Islamic
Front), a small Islamic party, because it disagreed with PAS’s electoral pact
with DAP. In GE14, ISMA withdrew from contesting, instead positioning
itself as an electoral pressure group. It launched a campaign called Gerakan
Pengundi Sedar (GPS, Voter Awareness Movement) and urged Muslims to
vote for calon Muslim berwibawa (credible Muslim candidates). According
to ISMA, a credible Muslim leader should be free from corruption, morally
good, and committed to upholding a Malay-Muslim agenda. Even though it
claims to be neutral, ISMA has often criticised the DAP and Muslim leaders
in PH. Most of the ‘credible Muslim candidates’ ISMA endorsed were from
PAS. To counter ISMA, a group of young IKRAM activists mimicked ISMA’s
campaign, releasing their own list of ‘credible Muslim candidates’, most of
them from PH.

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