Yesterday I asked how a Muslim PAP supporter will choose if weakening the PAP is beneficial to Islam. Will they support weakening their party for Islam’s sake?
The only response from someone who rejected the question based his discussion on the minority position of Muslims in Singapore. The response was based on standing as a candidate in an SMC.
Political action should not be restricted to standing as candidates or being in a political party. Anyone who participates in society is a political actor. Your relationship with society, with the state, your public (and at times private) interactions are political. We are political beings, whether we believe in a political system, support a party or actively participate in an election.
To simply restrict political action to being a candidate is to ignore a large portion of our socio-political interactions.
We need to free ourselves from the confines that LKY and GCT tried to impose on us.
Let us look at another argument that needs to be refined.
Muslims have over the years, argued that we are the swing votes. While we do not have the numerical ability to stand on a platform based on our religious values, the belief is that we can be kingmakers.
But let us not deceive ourselves on our own importance. We are about 15% of the population. There are guesstimates as to how many Muslims support the PAP. Some claim the majority of Muslims will always vote for the PAP while others argue its a minority.
For ease of discussions, let us assume it to be 50%.
The PAP won a 60% majority in the last elections. The 30%+ who rejected them included half of the Muslim community.
Even if we vote en bloc, the PAP nationally, will not be affected. If every Muslim in Singapore vote for opposition, the PAP would still get 50%+ of the votes. And if all of us vote for the PAP, they would still get 60%+.
We are not kingmakers.
But this does not fully discuss the possibilities. While we may not be kingmakers, we can have an effect in several constituencies.
The PAP won 51% at the Joo Chiat SMC. It has now been absorbed into Marine Parade GRC (57% in 2011).
A swing of Muslim votes in this GRC can result in a shift.
There are several other constituencies that were won with very slim majorities (less than 5%).Similarly, the WP won Aljunied with less than 5% majority.
If we truly want to expand our political options, look beyond party lines.
The PAP obviously will not want Muslims to be politically effective. They would prefer our participation to be based on the system they defined. This has now been normalised such that opposition parties may similarly demand the rejection of religious values in a population’s political decisions.
As though their religious or non-religious beliefs do not inform and dictate their own values and decisions.
If we truly care about Islam, let us think beyond party lines. We have been indoctrinated into thinking our interests should not matter. As though Islam should have no part in our decisions on politics.
Islam defines us. Every decision, every action, should be based on Islam.
Let us return Islam to the forefront of all our decisions.
Source: Zulfikar Shariff
