ABSTRACT
Malaysia’s largest opposition party, Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS), has governed Kelantan since 1990. However, before General Election 14 (GE14) in 2018, PAS had been criticized for failing to promote economic development in Kelantan, while other criticisms included rising cost of living, poor quality education and a major infrastructural lag. Moreover, a serious feud in PAS, after the demise of its prominent spiritual leader, Nik Aziz Nik Mat, was viewed as a key factor that would re-shape voting patterns in Kelantan. The much-anticipated three-cornered fights were thought to detrimentally undermine both PAS and the newly-formed coalition, Pakatan Harapan, as the spilt in support for the opposition would allow Barisan Nasional to return to power.
This study argues that Islam remained the main driving force in determining why PAS retained power, even gaining more state seats. While BN survived because of support it received in certain rural areas, PH did not win a single state or parliamentary seat, though it had high-profile ex-PAS members as candidates and espoused social justice and Islam-based policies. The GE14 results indicate that there was a big failure in understanding the relevance of Islamism as an alternative ideology as espoused by PAS in modern Malaysia.
