Malaysian Islamic Party

The post-World War II period, while Malaya was still under British colonial rule, saw the emergence of the country's first formal Islamic political movements. The Malay Nationalist Party (MNP), a left-wing nationalist organisation, was formed in October 1945 and led by Burhanuddin al-Helmy, who would later become the third president of PAS. Out of the MNP arose the Pan Malayan Supreme Islamic Council (Majlis Agama Tertinggi Sa-Malaya or MATA) in 1947, and MATA in turn formed the party Hizbul Muslimin (Muslim People's Party of Malaya) in 1948. The central aim of Hizbul Muslimin was the establishment of an independent Malaya as an Islamic state.{{Harvnb|Funston|1976|pp=64–66}} However, the party did not live beyond 1948. The Malayan Emergency of that year, while a British–Communist dispute, saw the colonial administration arrest a number of the party's leaders, and the nascent group disbanded. Nevertheless, the party served as a forerunner to PAS, supplying both the ideology upon which PAS was formed and some of PAS's key leaders in its early years.{{Harvnb|Funston|1976|p=67}}

File:Logo lama PAS.png

PAS was founded on 24 November 1951, as the Persatuan Islam Sa-Malaya (Pan Malayan Islamic Union) at a meeting in Butterworth, Penang. Shortly after it was renamed Persatuan Islam sa-Tanah Melayu (Tanah Melayu means "Land of the Malays" and was used instead of Malaya as "Malaya" had colonial connotations).{{Harvnb|Funston|1976|pp=69–70}} In English, it became known as the Pan Malayan Islamic Party (PMIP) before the 1955 election as the registrar of society required it to incorporate the word "party" into its name.{{sfn|Liow|2009|p=25}} Its acronym PAS, originally used in Malay but became more widely adopted in the 1970s, is based the written form in Jawi (ڤاس).{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_KfEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT63|title=The End of Umno? Essays on Malaysia's Former Dominant Party|first=Bridget |last=Welsh |date=2022 |publisher=Strategic Information and Research Development Centre |isbn=9789672464716}}

The formation of the party was the culmination of a growing desire among Muslim clerics within the United Malays National Organisation to formalise a discrete Islamic political organisation. However, the lines between UMNO and the new party were initially blurred. PAS allowed dual membership of both parties, and many of its early senior leaders were also UMNO members. The party's first president was Ahmad Fuad Hassan, an UMNO cleric. He lasted in the position only until 1953, when he fell out of favour with the party, which was now developing a more distinct identity, and returned to the UMNO fold. Fuad's departure coincided with the end of dual membership.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=36–43}} The party turned to Abbas Alias, a Western-educated medical doctor, as its second president, although he did not play an active role in the party and was little more than a nominal figurehead.{{Harvnb|Funston|1976|p=72}}

The party's first electoral test was the pre-independence 1955 election to the Federal Legislative Council, the body that preceded the national parliament. 52 single-member seats were up for election; PAS fielded 11 candidates. Hampered by a lack of funds and party organisation, PAS succeeded in having only one candidate elected: Ahmad Tuan Hussein, a teacher at an Islamic school in Kerian, Perak. He was the only opposition member of the council; the other 51 seats were won by members of the Alliance coalition between UMNO, the Malaysian Chinese Association and the Malaysian Indian Congress. PAS' performance in the election weakened its hand in negotiations with the British over the terms of Malayan independence. Its advocacy for the protection of Malay and Muslim rights, including the recognition of Islam as the country's official religion, was ignored. Alias stepped down from the presidency in 1956, handing it voluntarily to the radical nationalist Burhanuddin al-Helmy.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=44–46}} This change exemplified a broader trend among PAS's leadership in the late 1950s: the party's upper echelons gradually became filled with nationalists and long-time UMNO opponents, replacing the UMNO clerics who had initially led the party.{{Harvnb|Funston|1976|p=73}}

Burhanuddin al-Helmy, a prominent anti-colonialist, steered PAS in a socialist and nationalist direction and set about strengthening the party's internal structure and geographic reach. In the 1959 election, Malaya's first since independence, the party's focus on rural constituencies, especially in the north, paid off. Thirteen PAS candidates were elected to the 104-member House of Representatives, and the party took control of the legislative assemblies of the northern states of Kelantan and Terengganu.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=47–56}}{{Harvnb|Liow|2009|p=27}}

However, Burhanuddin's leftist Pan-Islamism, under which PAS sought greater ties between the Muslim peoples of Malaya and the Indonesian archipelago, soon led the party into a wedge. The Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation of 1963–66 turned popular Malayan opinion against Indonesia. PAS's attacks on Tunku Abdul Rahman's Alliance government for seeking Western assistance during the confrontation, and the party's continued support for Southeast Asian PAS-Islamism, led to a loss of support in the 1964 election. The party's parliamentary cohort was reduced to nine.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=56–59}} The party became further marginalised the following year, when Burhanuddin was detained without trial under the Internal Security Act on allegations that he had collaborated with Indonesia.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|p=60}}

Political circumstances in the country had changed by the 1969 election. The Konfrontasi had ended, Burhanuddin had been released from custody although was too ill to campaign actively, and the Alliance coalition was suffering from internal division as well as unpopularity. PAS' vote rose to over 20 percent of the national electorate, netting the party 12 seats in Parliament.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|p=62}} However, the parliament would not convene until 1971 as the 13 May race riots resulted in the declaration of a state of emergency. The country would be run by a National Operations Council for the following two years. In the meantime, Burhanuddin died in October 1969 and was replaced as PAS' president by his deputy, Asri Muda.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|p=63}}

Asri came to the presidency having been PAS's de facto leader during Burhanuddin's long illness.{{Harvnb|Chin Tong|2007}} But this did not mean a seamless transition for the party. While Burhanuddin had been sympathetic to left-wing causes and parties in Malaysia, Asri was first and foremost a Malay nationalist, and was hostile to leftist politics. One of his first acts as President of PAS was to part ways with the party's opposition allies on the left, such as the Malaysian People's Party. Ideologically, Asri's presidency would see the party shift markedly away from the Pas-Islamism of Burhanuddin. The party became principally concerned with the protection and advancement of the rights of ethnic Malays.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=67–70}} The party's activities also became solely focused on party politics, as reflected in the change of its Malay name in 1972 from the "Persatuan Islam sa-Tanah Melayu " (Pan-Malay-Land Islamic Association) to the "Parti Islam Se-Malaysia" (Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, but commonly referred to as Parti Islam, or PAS).{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|p=78}}{{cite web |url=https://www.akauntanharaki.com/2016/07/29-julai-1972-persatuan-islam-se-tanah.html |title=29 Julai 1972 : Persatuan Islam Se-Tanah Melayu Menukar Namanya Kepada Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) |work= akauntanharaki.com}}

However, Asri's most radical change was still to come. In January 1972, he announced that PAS would be joining the Alliance Party coalition (which would soon rebrand itself as Barisan Nasional) as a junior partner to its main rival UMNO. The move was controversial within PAS, and some of its members and senior leaders either left the party or were purged by Asri. Asri's principal justification for joining UMNO in a coalition government was that after the 1969 race riots, Malay unity was paramount, and that this required a partnership between the country's two ethnic-Malay political parties. Asri himself was given a ministerial position in the cabinet of prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=82–84}}

The 1974 election saw PAS competing under the Barisan Nasional banner for the first and only time. The party won 14 parliamentary seats to UMNO's 62, cementing PAS's position as the junior of the coalition partners. PAS also found itself governing in coalition in Kelantan, which it had previously governed in its own right. PAS's vote in its northern strongholds was weakened by a loss of support to both its former opposition allies and renegade PAS candidates running on anti-Barisan Nasional tickets.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=88–89}} Ultimately, it was Kelantan, Asri's home state and the base of political power, that would trigger the downfall of the UMNO–PAS partnership. After a conflict between Asri and the UMNO-favoured chief minister of the state, Mohamed Nasir, over investigations that Nasir initiated into Asri's financial dealings, Asri mobilised the PAS members of the Kelantan State Legislative Assembly to move a no-confidence motion against Nasir. The UMNO assemblymen staged a walk-out, abandoning Asri, driving an irreparable wedge through the coalition and causing a political crisis in the state. Government declared an emergency in the state, allowing the federal government to take control. Asri withdrew PAS from Barisan Nasional in December 1977.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=92–94}}

The 1978 election underscored how disastrous PAS's foray into the Barisan Nasional had been. The party was reduced to five parliamentary seats and, in separate state-level elections in Kelantan, was routed by UMNO and the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Front (BERJASA), which Nasir had founded after leaving PAS. The party's fortunes in the Kelantan election were not helped by a ban on public election rallies; while the Barisan Nasional was able to campaign through a compliant mass media, public talks were the principal way in which PAS could reach voters.{{Harvnb|Sundaram & Ahmad|1988|p=850}} PAS fared little better in the 1982 election. In the face of a new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, and the decision of the popular Islamist youth leader Anwar Ibrahim to join UMNO instead of PAS, the party was unable to improve on its five parliamentary seats and failed to regain government in Kelantan. Meanwhile, the 1978 to 1982 period coincided with the rise of a new generation of leaders within the party, including foreign-educated Muslim clerics (or "ulama") such as Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and Abdul Hadi Awang. This group sought to reorient PAS as an Islamist party and were fundamentally hostile to UMNO, whose Malay nationalist focus they saw to be at the expense of Islam.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=95–106}} In 1980 the group succeeded in electing Yusof Rawa to the deputy presidency of the party, ousting the Asri loyalist Abu Bakar Omar.{{Harvnb|Sundaram & Ahmad|1988|p=852}} By the time of PAS's 1982 assembly, it was clear to Asri that the ulama faction had the numbers to defeat him. He resigned on the floor of the assembly, and subsequently attacked the party through the media, leading to his expulsion and the formation of splinter party, Parti Hizbul Muslimin Malaysia (HAMIM) by Asri in 1983.{{Cite news|url=http://www.utusan.com.my/rencana/utama/nasib-parti-parti-serpihan-1.107845|title=Nasib Parti-parti Serpihan|author=Samsul Adabi Mamat|date=28 Jun 2015|language=ms|work=Utusan Malaysia|access-date=10 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190510142604/http://www.utusan.com.my/rencana/utama/nasib-parti-parti-serpihan-1.107845|archive-date=10 May 2019|url-status=dead}} The following year, in 1983, Yusof was elevated to the presidency, unopposed.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=107–110}}

The ulama who took over PAS in 1982 drew from the 1979 Iranian revolution for inspiration in establishing an Islamic state; Yusof Rawa himself had served as Malaysia's Ambassador to Iran in the years preceding the revolution. Yusof openly rejected the Malay nationalism that characterised both UMNO and PAS under Asri Muda, considering it a narrow and ignorant philosophy that was contrary to the concept of a Muslim ummah.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=121–123}} As if to exemplify the shift in the party's ideological outlook under Yusof and his ulama colleagues, the party's new leaders adopted a more conservative and religious form of dress, abandoning Malay and western clothing for traditional Arab religious garb.{{Harvnb|Hooker & Norani|2003|p=195}} Politics between UMNO and PAS became increasingly religious in nature. The Barisan Nasional government tried to counter the possible electoral appeal of PAS's Islamisation by creating a number of state-run Islamic institutions, such as the International Islamic University of Malaysia. PAS leaders responded by labelling such initiatives as superficial and hypocritical, UMNO leaders as "infidels", and UMNO as the "party of the devil".{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=129–132}}

The increasingly divisive rhetoric between UMNO and PAS produced deep divisions in Malay communities, especially in the northern states. Sometimes the divisions became violent, the most infamous example being the 1985 Memali incident, in which the government sanctioned a raid on a village led by the PAS cleric Ibrahim Libya, which left 14 civilians and four policemen dead.{{Harvnb|Liow|2009|pp=37–39}} It was against this backdrop that the PAS ulama faced their first general election in 1986. The result was a whitewash for the Barisan Nasional coalition. PAS recorded its worst-ever election result, retaining only one seat in Parliament. PAS, in recovering from the defeat, had no choice but to retreat from its hardline Islamism and pursue a moderate course.{{Harvnb|Liow|2009|p=41}} By 1989, Yusof had become too ill to remain as PAS's president, and was replaced by his deputy, Fadzil Noor, another member of the ulama faction that now dominated the party.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=140–141}}

File:Nik Aziz Kelantan.jpg became the Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) of Kelantan in 1990, and remained in the post for 23 years.]]

While not abandoning PAS's ideological commitment to the establishment of an Islamic state, Fadzil Noor moderated the party's rhetoric. He also set about infusing the party's membership with young urban professionals in an attempt to diversify the leadership ranks beyond religious clerics. The 1990s also saw PAS engage in international Islamist movements. Abdul Hadi Awang became active in a number of international Islamic organisations and delegations, and Islamist parties abroad sent delegations to Malaysia to observe PAS.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|p=154}}

The first electoral test of Fadzil's presidency was the 1990 election, which occurred against the backdrop of a split in UMNO out of which the Semangat 46 opposition party was formed. PAS joined Semangat 46 and two other Malay parties in the United Ummah Front ("Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah"), and won seven parliamentary seats. The new coalition swept the Barisan Nasional from power in Kelantan, winning all of its state assembly seats. Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, a cleric who played a leading role in the 1982 takeover of the party, became Kelantan's Chief Minister, and would remain in the position until his retirement in 2013.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=143–144}} One of the first acts of the PAS-led government in Kelantan was to seek to introduce hudud, a criminal punishment system for particular Islamic offences. The move was abandoned after it became clear that the law could not be enforced over the objections of the federal government.{{Harvnb|Stark|2004}}

PAS retained its seven parliamentary seats and the government of Kelantan in the 1995 election while all other opposition parties lost ground.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=153–154}} By the time of the next election in 1999, circumstances external to PAS had changed its fortunes for the better. The 1997 Asian financial crisis split the Barisan Nasional government between supporters of the Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, and his deputy, Anwar Ibrahim. Mahathir's sacking and subsequent detention without trial of Anwar in 1998 provoked widespread opposition, which PAS capitalised on more than any other opposition party. The party ran a sophisticated campaign for the 1999 election, taking advantage of the internet to bypass restrictions on print publications and managing to woo urban professional voters while retaining its traditional rural support base. For the first time, PAS joined the centre-left and secular Democratic Action Party in the Barisan Alternatif coalition which included the new party Keadilan, which was formed by Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife of the now imprisoned Anwar. It resulted in PAS's second best electoral performance (behind those of 2022 general election). The party took 27 of 192 parliamentary seats and had landslide state-level victories in Kelantan and Terengganu.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=155–159}}

The death of Fadzil Noor in 2002, and his replacement by the conservative cleric Abdul Hadi Awang, coincided with a period of division within the party between its younger and professional leaders, who sought to make PAS's Islamist ideology more appealing to mainstream Malaysia, and its conservative, and generally older, clerics. The party was unable to reconcile the views of the two factions with a coherent definition of the "Islamic state" that the party's platform envisioned. The debate itself caused the DAP to break with the Barisan Alternatif coalition; as a secular party with mainly an ethnic Chinese support base, it could not support the vision of an Islamic state propagated by PAS's conservatives. PAS also found itself losing Malay support following the replacement of Mahathir as Prime Minister with Abdullah Badawi, a popular and moderate Muslim, and post-September 11 fears among the electorate about radical Islam in Southeast Asia.{{Harvnb|Function|2006|pp=139–144}} If the 1999 election had been the party's zenith, the 2004 poll was one of the lowest points in its history. In an expanded Parliament, PAS was reduced to seven seats. Abdul Hadi not only lost his parliamentary seat but saw the government he led in Terengganu thrown from office after one term.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=176–177}}

The response of PAS to the 2004 election, like its response to the similar 1986 wipeout, was to abandon the hardline image that had contributed to its defeat. By now, the urban professional wing of the party's membership, brought into the party by Fadzil Noor in the 1990s, was ready to take charge. While Abdul Hadi's presidency was not under threat, the moderate faction, known as the "Erdogans" after the moderate Turkish Islamist leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had its members voted into other key positions in the party's 2005 general assembly.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|p=178}} PAS was now able to attack Abdullah Badawi's government from both the right and the left: on the one hand, it criticised Abdullah's promotion of Islam Hadhari as a watered-down version of Islam; on the other, it attacked the government for its human rights record and promoted the causes of social and economic justice, including for non-Muslims. The party also capitalised on the growth of the internet and social media in Malaysia to bypass the pro-government mass media.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=187–188}}

Ahead of the 2008 election PAS joined the DAP and Anwar Ibrahim's Keadilan, which was now known as People's Justice Party (PKR) in a new coalition, Pakatan Rakyat. The coalition handed the Barisan Nasional its worst-ever election result. Barisan Nasional lost its two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives, disabling it from passing constitutional amendments without opposition support. PAS won 23 seats; the Pakatan Rakyat as a whole won 82. At state level, decades-old Barisan Nasional governments fell in Kedah, Perak and Selangor. PAS now governed Kedah and Kelantan (led respectively by Azizan Abdul Razak and Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat) and supplied the Chief Minister of Perak (Nizar Jamaluddin) in a Pakatan Rakyat coalition government.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=188–192}}

PAS's 2009 general assembly saw latent fissures within the party come out into the open. The incumbent deputy president Nasharudin Mat Isa, a Malay nationalist who promoted greater co-operation between PAS and UMNO, was challenged by two moderate candidates.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=199–200}} Nasharudin survived with the backing of the conservative ulama faction; his two opponents had split the moderate vote. But at the 2011 assembly, Nasharudin was not so lucky: Mohamad Sabu, a leading moderate close to Anwar Ibrahim, commanded the support of the "Erdogan" wing and toppled him. Sabu's election was a significant defeat for the ulama faction. He was the first non-cleric to serve as the party's deputy president in over 20 years.{{sfn|Müller|2014|p=69}}

The Pakatan Rakyat coalition went into the 2013 election facing Najib Razak, who had replaced Abdullah as Prime Minister in 2009 but failed to improve the government's fortunes, especially among urban voters. PAS made a concerted effort to expand its voter base beyond the northern peninsula states, and campaigned heavily in Johor, where it had never won a parliamentary seat. The election witnessed a significant degree of cross-over ethnic voting: Chinese voters in Malay-majority seats decided in large numbers to support PAS, to maximise the chances of a national Pakatan Rakyat victory. Pakatan Rakyat garnered 50.8 percent of the national popular vote but could not win a majority in parliament.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|pp=215–216}} PAS, however, suffered a net loss of two parliamentary seats. This was principally attributable to a swing against the party in Kedah, where the party was removed from state government after one term and lost four parliamentary seats.{{cite news|url=http://mole.my/content/pas-loses-kedah-some-support-kelantan|title=PAS loses Kedah & some support in Kelantan|date=6 May 2013|work=Bernama|access-date=17 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129042413/http://mole.my/content/pas-loses-kedah-some-support-kelantan|archive-date=29 November 2014}}

When PAS saw its share of seats shrink in the 2013 election, it started to reassert its Islamic agenda.{{Cite web|date=2015-06-18|title=Break up of Malaysia's opposition bloc Pakatan Rakyat: What happened and what's next?|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/break-up-of-malaysias-opposition-bloc-pakatan-rakyat-what-happened-and-whats-next|access-date=2021-02-05|website=The Straits Times|language=en}} The passing of spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat in 2015 –who was known to be sympathetic and friendly to non-Malays and non-Muslims– shifted PAS more to the right-wing.{{cite journal |author=Azmil Tayeb |title=Green wave of change in the East Coast : PAS and anti-UMNO backlash in Kelantan |journal=Jebat: Malaysian Journal of History, Politics & Strategic Studies |date=December 2018 |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=241–3 |url=https://journalarticle.ukm.my/18631 |language=en |issn=2180-0251}} In the meantime, DAP criticised its president Abdul Hadi Awang for pushing a bill on hudud without consulting his opposition partners. This incident led to the DAP announcing in March 2015 that it would no longer work with the PAS leader. The rift worsened after conservatives captured PAS leadership, as progressive leaders endorsed by the late Nik Aziz himself were voted out of office in party elections, characterised by the media as an intentional wipe out and purge,{{cite news|url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/ahead-of-party-polls-pas-ulama-wing-calls-for-total-wipe-out-of-progressive|title=Ahead of party polls, PAS ulama wing calls for total wipe out of progressives|author=Syed Jaymal Zahiid|newspaper=The Malay Mail|date=3 June 2015|access-date=28 April 2017}}{{cite web|url=http://bridgetwelsh.com/2015/06/the-pas-purge-of-the-progressives/|title=The PAS purge of the progressives|work=Malaysiakini|publisher=Bridget Welsh|date=6 June 2015|access-date=28 April 2017|archive-date=16 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180716082501/http://bridgetwelsh.com/2015/06/the-pas-purge-of-the-progressives/|url-status=dead}} members of this progressive faction left and splintered as the new National Trust Party (Parti Amanah Negara, PAN) helmed by Mohamad Sabu. The now purged PAS accepted a motion by its conservative ulama wing to sever ties with DAP.{{Cite web|last=Parzi|first=Mohd Nasaruddin|date=2015-06-05|title=Dewan Ulama tidak akan berganjak usul hubungan dengan DAP putus|url=https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/politik/2015/06/59400/dewan-ulama-tidak-akan-berganjak-usul-hubungan-dengan-dap-putus|access-date=2021-02-05|website=Berita Harian|language=ms}} In response, DAP's Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng said that the Pakatan Rakyat coalition no longer exists as a result of the violation of the coalition's Common Policy Framework, of which PAS had violated by intentionally severing ties with DAP.{{Cite web|title=Pakatan Rakyat no longer exists, says DAP's Lim Guan Eng|url=https://www.astroawani.com/berita-politik/pakatan-rakyat-no-longer-exists-says-daps-lim-guan-eng-62668|access-date=2021-02-05|website=www.astroawani.com}} The coalition was replaced by Pakatan Harapan, which the newly formed PAN joined as a founding member.

The party formed Gagasan Sejahtera with Malaysia National Alliance Party (IKATAN) in 2016,{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/03/16/pas-ikatan-seal-formal-third-force-pact/|title=PAS, Ikatan seal 'third force' pact|date=16 March 2016|access-date=16 April 2021|website=The Star}} with BERJASA joining the coalition the same year. The coalition entered the 2018 Malaysian general election using the PAS logo and contested 158 seats, with PAS contesting 155 of them.{{Cite web|date=14 November 2019|title=Ke mana hala tuju GAGASAN menjelang PRU-15?|url=https://www.bharian.com.my/rencana/komentar/2019/11/628172/ke-mana-hala-tuju-gagasan-menjelang-pru-15|access-date=16 March 2021|website=Berita Harian|language=ms}} The coalition was able to win 18 parliamentary seats as well as wrangle control of the state of Terrenganu from BN, which PAS had last ruled in 2004, in addition to retaining control of Kelantan and denying supermajority of BN state government in Pahang.They also managed to took many of Barisan Nasional state seats in Kedah.{{cite web | url=https://berita.pas.org.my/pru14-pas-pahang-catat-rekod-paling-cemerlang-dalam-sejarah/ | title=PRU14: PAS Pahang catat rekod paling cemerlang dalam sejarah - Berita Parti | date=10 May 2018 }} However, PAS was the only party to win any seats as both BERJASA and IKATAN remained without representation.

{{Main|2018 anti-ICERD rally}}

In 2018, following the then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's announcement of the Seventh Mahathir cabinet's decision for the government to "ratify all remaining core UN instruments related to the protection of human rights", including International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and other five previously unratified conventions at a United Nations General Assembly, UMNO, PAS along with various non-governmental organisations, staged an Anti-ICERD Rally that was held at the Dataran Merdeka, Kuala Lumpur, to protest against the ratifications of the relevant international conventions, due to their perception that these human rights instruments contravene with the special position of the Malays, Bumiputera and Islam within the country; all of which are enshrined within the Malaysian Constitution.{{cite web|url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/452368|title=PAS and Umno to hold anti-Icerd rally in KL on Dec 8 - Malaysiakini|date=17 November 2018 |publisher=Malaysiakini|access-date=17 November 2018}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/11/24/govt-not-ratifying-icerd-we-will-continue-to-defend-federal-constitution-says-pms-office/|title=Govt not ratifying ICERD - The Star Online|work=The Star Online|date=24 November 2018 |access-date=24 November 2018}}

{{Main|2020–2022 Malaysian political crisis}}

In February 2020, PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang, in concert with Bersatu President Muhyiddin Yassin, UMNO leaders Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Ismail Sabri Yaakob and PKR defector members led by Azmin Ali, collectively convened at the Sheraton Petaling Jaya hotel to initiate a change in government, thus causing political instability by depriving the elected Pakatan Harapan government of a majority within the 14th Malaysian Parliament. As a result, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (along with the Seventh Mahathir cabinet) tendered their resignation.{{cite news |author=Yiswaree Palansamy |date=23 February 2020 |title=Azmin arrives at Sheraton Hotel, first sighting since rumoured new coalition |work=Malay Mail |url=https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/02/23/azmin-arrives-at-sheraton-hotel-first-sighting-since-rumoured-new-coalition/1840150 |access-date=24 February 2020}}{{cite news |author=Sadho Ram |date=23 February 2020 |title=PAS, UMNO, Bersatu, Amanah And 10 PKR MPs Said To Be Forming A New Coalition Govt |work=SAYS |url=https://says.com/my/news/pas-umno-bersatu-amanah-and-10-pkr-mps-said-to-be-forming-a-new-coalition-govt |access-date=24 February 2020}}{{cite news |last=Ratcliffe |first=Rebecca |date=24 February 2020 |title=Malaysia's PM Mahathir Mohamad resigns amid political turmoil |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/24/anwar-ibrahim-decries-traitors-amid-cracks-in-deal-to-make-him-malaysias-next-pm |access-date=24 February 2020}} In March 2020, after the Yang di-Pertuan Agong consulted all members of the 14th Malaysian Parliament, Muhyiddin Yassin was deemed to have the greatest support within Parliament and was selected as the 8th Prime Minister of Malaysia (without an electoral mandate).{{cite news |date=29 February 2020 |title=Muhyiddin Yassin is Malaysia's next prime minister: Palace statement |work=CNA (TV network) |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-muhyiddin-yassin-malaysia-next-prime-minister-palace-781571 |access-date=28 April 2022}}{{cite news |date=1 March 2020 |title=Muhyiddin Yassin sworn in as Malaysian PM |work=CNA (TV network) |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/malaysia-muhyiddin-yassin-swearing-in-prime-minister-781516 |access-date=28 April 2022}}

In September 2019, UMNO decided to form a pact with PAS called Muafakat Nasional. Its express purpose was to unite the Malay Muslim communities for electoral purposes.{{cite web |url=https://themalaysianreserve.com/2019/09/18/whats-next-for-piagam-muafakat-nasional/ |title= What's next for Piagam Muafakat Nasional? |date=18 September 2019 |work=The Malaysian Reserve }} However, this co-operation did not cover the rest of Barisan Nasional, which UMNO was member to, despite calls for a migration to the new alliance.{{cite web |url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/politics/2019/11/543468/mcas-future-muafakat-nasional-remains-unclear |title=MCA's future in Muafakat Nasional remains unclear |date=30 November 2019|work=New Straits Times}}{{cite news |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/calls-in-umno-for-barisan-nasional-to-migrate-to-muafakat-nasional |title=Calls in Umno for Barisan Nasional to 'migrate' to Muafakat Nasional |date=5 December 2019 |work=The Straits Times |author=Reme Ahmad}} Barisan Nasional continued to function as a separate coalition of four parties comprising UMNO, MCA, MIC and PBRS.

During the Tanjung Piai by-election, PAS vice-president Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah stated that PAS would support the candidate nominated by Barisan Nasional,{{Cite news |url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/politics/2019/09/524597/pas-will-support-mca-candidate-tanjung-piai-election|title=Pas will support MCA candidate in Tanjung Piai by-election |publisher=New Straits Times|author= Sharifah Mahsinah Abdullah|date=25 September 2019 |access-date=4 October 2019}} which was reaffirmed by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.{{Cite news|url=https://www.pressreader.com/malaysia/new-straits-times/20190928/281646781868697|title=HADI: PAS WILL BACK BN CANDIDATE|publisher=New Straits Times|author= Mohd Aizat Shamsuddin Marang |date=29 September 2019|access-date=4 October 2019}}

On 23 February 2020, PAS held an extraordinary meeting Janda Baik, Pahang together with the UMNO in the lead up to the 2020-21 Malaysian political crisis. PAS President Hadi Awang was among the entourage of then-opposition political leaders as well as members of government that visited the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to discuss the formation of a new government on 23 February.{{cite news |url=https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2020/02/23/azmin-arrives-at-sheraton-hotel-first-sighting-since-rumoured-new-coalition/1840150 |title=Azmin arrives at Sheraton Hotel, first sighting since rumoured new coalition |author=Yiswaree Palansamy |work=Malay Mail |date=23 February 2020 |access-date=24 February 2020}}

On 24 February, Mahathir announced his resignation as prime minister, followed by the withdrawal of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (BERSATU) as well as 11 PKR MPs led by Azmin Ali from Pakatan Rakyat's successor coalition, Pakatan Harapan. This led to the collapse of the government as the remaining three parties, the DAP, PKR, and Amanah did not have enough seats for a majority. PAS along with UMNO declared their support for Mahathir to remain as prime minister.

On 25 February, UMNO and PAS revealed that they had withdrawn their prior support for Mahathir to continue as prime minister, and instead called for the dissolution of parliament.{{cite news |url=https://www.bernama.com/bm/news.php?id=1816482|title=Muafakat Nasional cadang bubar Parlimen, tarik balik SD sokong Dr M |language=ms |trans-title=Muafakat Nasional propose the dissolution of Parliament, retract SDs supporting Dr M |date=25 February 2020 |access-date=27 February 2020 |work=Bernama}} It was previously reported that as all political factions voiced their support for Mahathir, he was intent on establishing a "unity government", which the two parties could not agree with.{{cite news |url=https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/dr-mahathir-proposes-lead-unity-government-%E2%80%94-sources |title=Dr Mahathir proposes to lead 'unity government' — sources |date=25 February 2020 |access-date=27 February 2020 |work=The Edge Markets }}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite news |url=https://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/malaysia-still-limbo-agong-continues-214413610.html |title=Malaysia still in limbo as Agong continues search for new PM |work=Yahoo! News |via=Malay Mail |author=Justin Ong |date=26 February 2020 |access-date=17 May 2020}} Annuar Musa, UMNO's secretary-general, said the basis of negotiations with Mahathir was that UMNO and PAS would lend their support to form an alternative coalition without DAP. Therefore, both PAS and UMNO instead announced their support for a snap election.{{cite news |url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/512216 |title=Umno and PAS withdraw support for Dr M |date=25 February 2020 |access-date=27 February 2020 |work=MalaysiaKini}}

On 28 February, PAS then released a statement announcing their support for the BERSATU president, Muhyiddin Yassin to be appointed as the 8th Prime Minister, with every Muafakat Nasional MPs also signing statutory declarations in support of Muhyiddin.{{cite news |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/02/27/tuan-ibrahim-all-pas-umno-mps-signed-sd-for-muhyiddin-to-be-pm |title=Tuan Ibrahim: All PAS, Umno MPs signed SD for Muhyiddin to be PM|date=27 February 2020 |access-date=28 February 2020 |work=Bernama}}

On 29 February, BERSATU President Muhyiddin Yassin and his allies including party leaders from UMNO, PAS, Gabungan Parti Sarawak, Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah, and the Homeland Solidarity Party had an audience with the Agong to discuss the formation of a government.{{cite news |url=http://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/wakil-pemimpin-parti-tiba-di-istana-negara-pagi-ini-232119?amp |title=Wakil pemimpin parti tiba di Istana Negara pagi ini |language=ms |trans-title=Party leaders' representatives arrived at the National Palace this morning |date=29 February 2020 |access-date=29 February 2020 |work=Astro Awani}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/nasional/2020/02/660538/muhyiddin-ketuai-perikatan-nasional-jumpa-agong|title=Muhyiddin ketuai Perikatan Nasional jumpa Agong |language=ms |trans-title=Muhyiddin lead Perikatan Nasional to have audience with the Agong |work=Berita Harian|date=29 February 2020|access-date=29 February 2020}} He announced that his coalition consisting of BERSATU, UMNO, PAS, PBRS, GPS, and STAR would be called Perikatan Nasional.{{cite news |url=http://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/muhyiddin-wakili-perikatan-nasional-gps-star-juga-bersama-232122?amp |title=Muhyiddin wakili Perikatan Nasional: GPS, STAR juga bersama? |language=ms |trans-title=Muhyiddin representing Perikatan Nasional: Are GPS, STAR allies? |work=Astro Awani |date=29 February 2020 |access-date=29 February 2020}} and claimed that they had majority support in parliament to elect a Prime Minister and to form a government.{{cite news|url=https://www.bharian.com.my/berita/nasional/2020/02/660557/gabungan-perikatan-nasional-dakwa-miliki-blok-terbesar|title=Gabungan 'Perikatan Nasional' dakwa miliki blok terbesar |language=ms |trans-title='Perikatan Nasional' coalition claim having the largest bloc|work=Berita Harian|date=29 February 2020|access-date=29 February 2020}}

In the Muhyiddin cabinet, which was formed on 10 March 2020, three PAS MPs became were given ministerial positions and five PAS MPs were afforded the position of deputy ministers.

{{blockquote|Hebatnya Sultan Kedah ni, bukan koman koman. Sultan tara tu angpa bayang, hang tengok Menteri (Besaq) la ni. Sultan hebat lagu tu tak akan pilih Menteri Besaq cokia macam Amir tu. Inci pun tak berapa cukup.}}

{{small|Translation: How amazing the Sultan of Kedah is, not an ordinary (entity/power). Can you just imagine the great Sultan, see the current Menteri Besar (me). The great Sultan (Kedah) like that won't elect a useless Menteri Besar just like that Amir (Amirudin Shari). He's unfit for duties.}}

On the night of 11 July 2023, during a political talk in Selayang, a town in the District of Gombak, Selangor for the upcoming 2023 Malaysian State Elections, PAS Election Director and Menteri Besar of Kedah Sanusi had reportedly belittled and drawn a comparison between the Kedah and Selangor sultans, and said the Kedah ruler would not have appointed Amirudin Shari as the Menteri Besar. His statement has caused an outrage nationwide, especially for Selangorians because the Malay Royal Institutions should be respected just as stated in the second Rukun Negara. This is because Malaysia's sultans play a largely ceremonial role, including acting as custodians of Islam in the Muslim-majority country, and are held in deep respect.{{Cite news |date=2023-07-18 |title=Malaysia charges opposition leader with sedition over remarks on royalty |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysia-charges-opposition-leader-with-sedition-over-remarks-royalty-2023-07-18/ |access-date=2023-07-18}}

Sanusi drew comparisons between the Sultan of Kedah (Al-Aminul Karim Sultan Sallehuddin Sultan Badlishah) and the Sultan of Selangor (Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah) in appointing Amirudin as Menteri Besar back in 2018 after an unprecedented win of Pakatan Harapan in the 14th General Elections which he labelled using Kedah-Northern dialect as 'Cokia' (substandard or useless) and body shamed him as 'Inci Pun Tak Berapa Nak Cukup' (unfit for duties).

Due to his statements, numerous police reports have been made and also the representatives on behalf of the Selangor Sultan itself, The Council of Royal Selangor, has lodge a legal action to take Sanusi as a serious (criminal) matter. Datuk Emran Abdul Kadir, one of its members stated that Sanusi must immediately apologise for disputing Sultan's prerogative.

Other notable figures who voiced out against Sanusi were, Hashim Jasin, the Spiritual Leader of PAS reminded Sanusi to watch his mouth. In the contrary, former Minister of Health Khairy Jamaludin stated that watching his mouth will not change his gung-ho image. Then, UMNO President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi told Kedahans to not vote on a joker as he was referring to Sanusi during the upcoming state polls. Next, The Communications and Digital Minister, Fahmi Fadzil condemned Sanusi's alleged insults against Selangor Sultan by asking him to prepare for the consequences. Same goes to, The Home Affairs Minister, Saifuddin Nasution Ismail which told the press that issues relating with 3R (Race, Religion, and Royalty) has negative consequences which Sanusi must be held accountable for his actions and the government has many other things to do rather than banning his TikTok account.

After the outcry, on 14 July 2023, made a press conference Sanusi issues a formal apology letter to the Sultan and told the press that his words was taken out of context. Sanusi also confirmed that he had given his statement to the police to complete an investigation into the report launched by PKR Youth and other political parties. He was informed by the Selangor Royal Office that the Sultan has replied his letter which he refused to disclose the contents of the replied letter due to the respect of the nobility of the Selangor Royal Institution.{{Cite web |last=Povera |first=Adib |date=15 July 2023 |title=Sanusi Apologises Sultan Selangor |url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/politics/2023/07/931187/sanusi-apologises-sultan-selangor |website=New Straits Times}}

In response, Menteri Besar Amiruddin Shari was furious about the statement and told that Sanusi should be held accountable for the comments and must act more responsibly as befitting his position. He urges Sanusi to learn from him on how to develop Kedah and stop lying to his voters and the masses. He also puzzled about his apology and remind Malaysians to focus on facts and data to help develop the respective states and country.

On 17 July 2023, The Commissioner of PAS in Selangor, Ahmad Yunus Hairi and The Selangor Police Chief, Dato Hussein Omar Khan has made an audience with Sultan Sharafuddin to discuss about the matter. Hence, the Selangor Royal Office has made a Royal Decree that 'the issue is yet to be resolved'.

Despite the clarifications and the apology, Sanusi was detained and taken into custody by the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) on the wee hours of 18 July 2023 after the Perikatan Nasional's Supreme Council Meeting held at their headquarters in Solaris Dutamas, Segambut, Kuala Lumpur.{{Cite news |date=18 July 2023 |title=Sanusi Arrested Mont Kiara Early Morning |work=New Straits Times |url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2023/07/932039/sanusi-arrested-mont-kiara-early-morning}}

Harian Metro reported that Sanusi was arrested at his hotel room in Mont Kiara by 20 officers from the Classified Criminal Investigations Department (USJT) and Bukit Aman's Anti-Vice, Gambling, and Secret Societies Division (D7). They ordered him to get out of his room, and taken him to a Toyota Fortuner four-wheel drive heading to the Gombak District Police Headquarters (IPD). He was heavily escorted with the PDRM Selangor Contingent of Crime Investigation Department (JSJ) Vehicles.{{Cite web |last=Nawawi |first=Muhaamad Hafis |date=18 July 2023 |title=Sanusi Ditahan Polis |url=https://www.hmetro.com.my/utama/2023/07/988896/sanusi-ditahan-polis |website=Harian Metro}}

According to The Star, his political secretary, Hilmi Abd Wahab, said that Sanusi saw two men in dark clothes standing at the emergency exit. As minutes went by, more and more uniformed men showed up, before finally, at 2.30am, a total of 20 policemen were reportedly standing outside his hotel room. He was told that Sanusi was detained under Section 4(1)(a) (Act 15) of the Sediction Act which he needs to attend legal proceedings at the Selayang Sessions Court. This was confirmed by the PDRM's Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Razarudin Husain as he stated that investigation papers about 3Rs has been sent to the Attorney General of Malaysia. Included in the papers as well are, former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang, and former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng. He also included that Sanusi refused to answer calls which leads to his sudden arrest. Hence, it is a seizable offense because the report was lodged by the Selangor Royal Council of which it involves the Agong and Selangor Sultan. Also, Razarudin clarifies that 3R is a serious matter because Sanusi's case could leads to insulting all the other Malay Rulers as well.

Later in the morning, he was seen at the Selayang Sessions Court at 8:55 a.m.. However, Astro Awani during a live broadcast reported that he entered the court using the back entrance in purpose to avoid the media.{{Cite web |title=Sanusi tiba di mahkamah, masuk ikut 'pintu belakang' |url=https://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/sanusi-tiba-di-mahkamah-masuk-ikut-pintu-belakang-428594?amp=1 |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=Astro Awani}}

According to Free Malaysia Today, the disgraced Sanusi pleaded not guilty to two charges, both framed under Section 4(1)(a) (Act 15) of the Sedition Act 1948 at two separate courts. The judges of the case were Nor Rajiah Mat Zin and Osman Affendi Mohd Shalleh.{{Cite web |last=Asyraf |first=Faisal |date=18 July 2023 |title=Sanusi Charged With Making Seditious Remark Against Selangor Ruler |url=https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2023/07/18/sanusi-charged-with-making-seditious-remark-against-selangor-ruler/ |website=Free Malaysia Today}}

The provision carries a punishment of up to a RM5,000 in fine, three years in jail, or both for first-time offenders. He is said to have committed the offence at Simpang Empat, Taman Selayang Mutiara in Gombak, Selangor, on 11 July. The second charge he faces is in relation to a statement that he made that was "inclined to incite disloyalty against the Rulers". He is said to have committed the same offence at the same place and time for this charge. He was allowed bail of RM5,000 for both charges, and both courts have imposed a gag order on Sanusi to stop him from making any comments regarding the case.{{Cite web |last=Wan Xiang |first=Yap |date=18 July 2023 |title=Sanusi Pleads Not Guilty To Making Seditious Remark Against Selangor Sultan |url=https://says.com/my/news/sanusi-pleads-not-guilty-seditious-remark-selangor-sultan |website=SAYS}}

Amid criticism of the use of the controversial Sedition Act against a political opponent, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim stressed that the case relates to “the position and dignity” of Malaysian's monarchs. He further added that he refuse to meddle in the matter as the charges were laid by the Attorney General, after a police investigation that followed the proper procedures.

Meanwhile, Law and Institutional Reforms Minister Azalina Othman Said said that the government was mooting a new law to tackle the so-called 3R issues, to replace the controversial Sedition Act from 1948. She also stated the Sanusi actions will notabsolve criminal offence. The government will hold discussions with relevant parties to assess the matter with stakeholders.{{Cite web |date=2023-07-18 |title=Malaysia charges opposition election chief with sedition weeks before polls |url=https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3228074/malaysia-charges-opposition-perikatan-nasional-election-chief-sedition-sultan-insult-weeks-state |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}

Negative remarks about the Malaysian's Royalty can be prosecuted under a colonial-era law, The Sedition Act 1948, which has been used against people who criticise the Sultans on social media. However, sedition charges brought against Malaysian politicians have been rare in recent years. Neighbouring Thailand has a strict lese-majeste law banning insults against its monarchy.{{Cite web |title=Malaysian politician charged with sedition over royalty remarks |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/18/malaysia-charges-politician-with-sedition-over-sultan-remarks |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=www.aljazeera.com |language=en}}

File:PAS Flag.svg

According to Farish A. Noor, a Malaysian academic who has written a complete history of PAS:

From the day PAS was formed, in November 1951, the long-term goal of creating an Islamic state in Malaysia has been the beacon that has driven successive generations of PAS leaders and members ever forward. What has changed is the meaning and content of the signifier 'Islamic state'{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|p=224}}

From time to time, PAS's pursuit of an "Islamic state" has involved attempts to legislate for hudud—an Islamic criminal justice system—in the states that it governs.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-politics-islam/islamic-law-debate-puts-more-pressure-on-malaysia-pm-idUSKBN0N70BH20150416|title=Islamic law debate puts more pressure on Malaysia PM|author1=Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah|author2=Praveen Menon|author3=Trinna Leong|author4=John Chalmers|author5=Mark Bendeich|work=Reuters|date=16 April 2015|access-date=15 December 2017}}
{{*}} {{cite web|url=http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/opinions-divided-in-kelantan-over-hudud-law-debate|title=Opinions divided in Kelantan over hudud law debate|agency=Reuters|publisher=The Malay Mail|date=16 April 2015|access-date=15 December 2017}}
{{*}} {{cite web|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2016/05/31/asia/malaysia-hudud-bill/|title=Push for hudud law raises tensions in Malaysia|author=Zan Azlee|publisher=CNN|date=31 May 2016|access-date=15 December 2017}} Such laws would apply to all Muslims and would not apply to non-Muslims. PAS-dominated state assemblies in Kelantan and Terengganu passed hudud laws in the early 1990s and early 2000s respectively, although neither has ever been enforced due to opposition from the federal government.{{Harvnb|Liow|2009|pp=61–64}} PAS returned to its pursuit of hudud laws after the 2013 election, signalling that it would table bills in the federal Parliament to allow the laws, still on the statute books in Kelantan, to be enforced. The bills would require a two-thirds majority in the Parliament as they involve constitutional amendments.{{cite web|url=https://my.news.yahoo.com/kelantan-consider-smaller-guillotine-thieves-under-hudud-law-024326655.html|title=Kelantan to consider 'smaller' guillotine for thieves under hudud law, says report|work=The Malaysian Insider|publisher=Yahoo! News|date=16 November 2014|access-date=22 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129092113/https://my.news.yahoo.com/kelantan-consider-smaller-guillotine-thieves-under-hudud-law-024326655.html|archive-date=29 November 2014|url-status=dead}}

After PAS's electoral rout in 2004, the party sought to broaden its policies beyond Islamism. Among other things, the party focused on calling for improved civil liberties and race relations. However, these policy shifts have proven controversial within the party; conservatives have considered them part of a dilution of PAS's commitment to an Islamic state.{{cite book|last1=Liow|first1=Joseph Chinyong|last2=Pasuni|first2=Afif|editor1-last=Weiss|editor1-first=Meredith|title=Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Malaysia|year=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1317629597|page=54|chapter=Islam, the state and politics in Malaysia}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2004/01/07/dress-code-ruling-draws-flak/|title=Dress code ruling draws flak|work=The Star|date=7 January 2004|access-date=15 December 2017}}
{{*}} {{cite web|url=http://www.weldd.org/our-voices/malaysia-new-pas-terengganu-dress-code-women-sparks-furore|title=Malaysia: New PAS Terengganu dress code for women sparks furore|publisher=Weldd|date=7 January 2004|access-date=15 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171215221351/http://www.weldd.org/our-voices/malaysia-new-pas-terengganu-dress-code-women-sparks-furore|archive-date=15 December 2017|url-status=dead}}
{{*}} {{cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/letters/2004/01/12/pas-violating-rights-with-dress-code/|title=PAS violating rights with dress code|work=The Star|date=12 January 2004|access-date=15 December 2017}}

When PAS was defeated in Terengganu, enforcement of female dress codes was reduced. The state PAS government in Kelantan banned traditional Malay dance theatres, banned advertisements depicting women who are not fully clothed, and enforced the wearing of headscarves. However, they allowed gender-segregated cinemas and concerts. Some government-controlled bodies pressure non-Muslims also to wear headscarves, and all students of the International Islamic University of Malaysia and female officers in the Royal Malaysian Police are required to wear headscarves in public ceremonies.{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/irf/2007/90143.htm|title=International Religious Freedom Report [Archived Content]|publisher=US Department of State|year=2007|access-date=22 November 2014}}

The PAS party wishes that the death penalty be enacted for Muslims who attempt to convert, as part of their ultimate desire to turn Malaysia into an Islamic state.{{sfn|Liow|2009|pp=87–}} The party is also against the government-backed wave of Anti-Shi'a persecution.{{cite news |last=Osman |first=Salim |title=Clampdown on Shi'ism in Malaysia a cause for concern |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/08/23/clampdown-shiism-malaysia-a-cause-concern.html |quote= Politics is yet another reason for Malaysia's hardening stance towards the Shi'ites. A small Shi'ite community has emerged in several Kedah districts, upsetting Umno as the Shi'ites support the Islamic Parti Islam SeMalaysia (or Pas-Malaysian Islamic Party, PAS). Word has spread that Shi'ites have infiltrated PAS, and that even some top leaders have become believers. Hence, the current witch hunt in PAS. But PAS and its Kelantan state government are opposed to the anti-Shi'ite campaign. |publisher=The Jakarta Post |date=23 August 2013}}

PAS has also maintained close personal and ideological ties with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.{{sfn|Müller|2014|p=2}} The party's relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood dates back to the 1940s when PAS's founders were exposed to the ideas and teachings of the Muslim Brotherhood while they were studying in Cairo during the 1940s. According to Wan Saiful Wan Jan of the think tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, the Muslim Brotherhood regards PAS as a model for a successful Muslim political party; since PAS has governed the state of Kelantan continually since 1990. PAS representatives are often invited to Muslim Brotherhood speaking engagements overseas. In 2012, PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang spoke alongside Muslim Brotherhood scholar Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi at a speaking event in London.{{cite news|last1=Chew|first1=Amy|title=The rising force in Malaysia's opposition|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/02/201321092433869462.html|access-date=23 April 2018|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=11 February 2013}} That same year, PAS representatives met with Muslim Brotherhood leaders Sheikh Mahdi Akif and Dr Muhammad Badie in Cairo.{{cite web|url=http://presiden.pas.org.my/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=450:pas-tegaskan-pendirian-bersama-ikhwanul-muslimin&catid=14:kenyataan-rasmi&Itemid=56|title=PAS tegaskan pendirian bersama Ikhwanul Muslimin|language=ms|publisher=PAS President|date=2 April 2014|access-date=15 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404045418/http://presiden.pas.org.my/v2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=450:pas-tegaskan-pendirian-bersama-ikhwanul-muslimin&catid=14:kenyataan-rasmi&Itemid=56|archive-date=4 April 2014|url-status=dead}}

According to Müller, PAS's current generation of leaders, the Ulama Leadership (Kepimpinan Ulama) was also influenced by Muslim Brotherhood ideology while studying in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and India during the 1980s. Muslim Brotherhood–inspired Islamic education methods (tarbiyah) and regular study circles (usrah/halaqah) were systematically introduced while networks were established with Muslim political parties and movements abroad.{{sfn|Müller|2014|p=54-55}} In April 2014, Awang criticised the governments of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates for designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organisation. In January 2016, former PAS leader Mujahid Yusof Rawa claimed that the Muslim Brotherhood's influence on PAS was limited to sharing the organisation's views on the role of Islam in society. Rawa also claimed that other local Muslim groups such as Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM; Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia) and IKRAM were also sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood.{{cite news|last1=Shukry|first1=Anisah|title=Muslim Brotherhood influence not a problem in Malaysia|url=http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/%E2%80%98muslim-brotherhood-influence-not-problem-malaysia%E2%80%99|access-date=23 April 2018|newspaper=The Edge|date=28 January 2016}}

{{Criticism section|date=January 2024}}

The Terengganu police have announced an investigation into a controversial parade organized by the local PAS Youth group, which took place on 19 February 2023. The police were initially informed about the march, but they were not aware that some supporters would be carrying replica weapons, causing concern among certain groups. DCP Datuk Rohaimi Md Isa, the police chief, has stated that preliminary investigations will be conducted to determine if any offences were committed during the event, and appropriate action will be taken accordingly. Images circulating on social media showed members of Terengganu PAS Youth dressed in medieval Islamic war attire and wielding fake swords, spears, and shields. The parade was reportedly part of a two-day gathering called "Himpunan Pemuda Islam Terengganu" (Himpit), held at a resort in Setiu, Terengganu. Religious Affairs Minister Datuk Dr. Mohd Na’im Mokhtar criticized the parade, expressing that it presented an inappropriate image of Islam, emphasizing the importance of promoting peace and unity in society. He also called for authorities to investigate any potential legal violations. Social media photos also depicted a pickup truck carrying a large fake sword, with youths dressed in militant costumes standing on its cargo bed while it was in motion.{{cite news |title=Terengganu police investigating PAS Youth's controversial parade |newspaper=The Star |date=February 19, 2023 |url=https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2023/02/19/terengganu-police-investigating-pas-youths-controversial-parade}}{{cite news |title=PAS militia cosplay: PAS thanks police for clarification |newspaper=New Straits Times |date=February 19, 2023 |url=https://www.nst.com.my/news/crime-courts/2023/02/882024/pas-militia-cosplay-pas-thanks-police-clarification}}

After the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021 and re-established an Islamic theocracy in Afghanistan, PAS international affairs and external relations committee chairman, Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi (also the son of the incumbent PAS president), congratulated the Islamist militant group for "successfully achieving victory for their country" on Twitter and Facebook, stating its liberation from Western powers.{{Cite web |last=Abdul Hadi |first=Muhammad Khalil |date=2021-08-18 |title=Tahniah kepada rakyat Afghanistan |trans-title=Congratulations to the people of Afghanistan |url=https://harakahdaily.net/index.php/2021/08/18/tahniah-kepada-rakyat-afghanistan/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=HarakahDaily |language=ms}}

{{Blockquote|text=The victory and ‘independence’ achieved this time is the result of the efforts of all Afghans to liberate their homeland which for 20 years has been colonised and invaded without mercy and humanity that almost destroyed Afghanistan.|author=Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi, PAS international affairs and external relations committee chairman|title=Harakah|source=}}

In August 2021, Khalil also added that the Taliban had also become more moderate, spuriously claiming that women's rights (including women's freedom of movement) and the opportunities for women in the workforce were preserved.{{Cite web |last=Abdul Hadi |first=Muhammad Khalil |date=2021-08-20 |title=Imej sederhana Taliban mulai diterima rakyat |trans-title=The moderate image of the Taliban is starting to be accepted by the people |url=https://harakahdaily.net/index.php/2021/08/20/imej-sederhana-taliban-mulai-diterima-rakyat/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=HarakahDaily |language=ms}} The unsubstantiated comments were widely condemned by numerous Malaysian social media users, and Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi's pro-Taliban posts on Facebook and Twitter were taken down in response.{{cite web |title=Hadi: Taliban has changed, don't believe Western media |url=https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/588586 |website=MalaysiaKini |date=25 August 2021 |access-date=5 October 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Awang |first1=Abdul Hadi |title=Taliban yang beristiqamah dan berubah |url=https://berita.pas.org.my/taliban-yang-beristiqamah-dan-berubah/ |website=Berita PAS |date=25 August 2021 |access-date=5 October 2021}} In March 2022, numerous independent news reports indicated that women and girls in Afghanistan were deprived (by decrees from the Taliban) from their ability to work, study or move freely within the country.{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Ruchi |title=Shrinking public space for Afghan women as Taliban expands curbs |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/6/are-the-taliban-returning-to-their-harshest-ruling |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Al Jazeera English |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-01-18 |title=Afghanistan: Taliban Deprive Women of Livelihoods, Identity |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/01/18/afghanistan-taliban-deprive-women-livelihoods-identity |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Speri |first=Alice |title=Women and Journalists Are Targets of Violence in Taliban-Ruled Afghanistan, Report Says |url=https://theintercept.com/2022/04/14/afghanistan-taliban-violence-women-journalists/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=The Intercept |date=14 April 2022 |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Najafizada |first=Eltaf |date=2021-12-01 |title=A Taliban ban on women in the workforce can cost economy $1bn |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/12/1/talibans-ban-on-women-in-the-workforce-can-cost-economy-1bn |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Bloomberg News |language=en}}

In October 2021, the leader of PAS's youth wing, Khairil Nizam Khirudin, proposed closer ties between PAS and the Taliban. He claimed that if China was able build ties with the Taliban, Malaysia should also do so.[https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2021/10/31/pas-youth-seeks-closer-ties-with-taliban-led-afghanistan-asks-if-communist/2017301 PAS Youth seeks closer ties with Taliban-led Afghanistan, asks if ‘communist China’ can, why not ‘Muslim Malaysia’], The Malay Mail

In August 2021, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang alleged that Western media made false accusations against the Taliban to advance an Islamophobic agenda, without studying and fully understanding the religion of Islam.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-25 |title=Abdul Hadi perjelas isu Taliban, dakwa media Barat sebar berita palsu |trans-title=Abdul Hadi clarified the Taliban issue, claiming that the Western media spread false news |url=https://www.astroawani.com/berita-malaysia/abdul-hadi-perjelas-isu-taliban-dakwa-media-barat-sebar-berita-palsu-316047 |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Astro Awani |language=ms}} He also repeated the Taliban claim, that the Taliban provided broad amnesty to government officials of the toppled Islamic Republic of Afghanistan; this claim was disputed as numerous independent reports with evidence indicated that the Taliban instead conducted enforced disappearances, summary executions and revenge killings against the former government officials.{{Cite news |title=UN Chief Accuses Taliban Of Scores Of Revenge Killings Since Seizing Control In Afghanistan |url=https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/un-accuses-taliban-revenge-killings/31678540.html |access-date=2022-04-29 |work=Radiofreeeurope/Radioliberty |language=en}}{{Cite news |last1=Marcolini |first1=Barbara |last2=Sohail |first2=Sanjar |last3=Stockton |first3=Alexander |date=2022-04-12 |title=Opinion: The Taliban Promised Them Amnesty. Then They Executed Them. |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/12/opinion/taliban-afghanistan-revenge.html |access-date=2022-04-29 |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |date=2022-03-22 |title=Afghanistan: Taliban Threaten Revenge Killings |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/22/afghanistan-taliban-threaten-revenge-killings |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Evidence mounts of Taliban 'revenge killings' |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-60323638 |access-date=2022-04-29}} In the same article, Abdul Hadi Awang also alleged that the Taliban undertook a celebratory approach to the diversity of society within a multi-ethnic Afghanistan;{{Cite web |last=Awang |first=Abdul Hadi |date=2021-08-25 |title=Taliban yang beristiqamah dan berubah |trans-title=The Taliban are steadfast and have changed |url=https://harakahdaily.net/index.php/2021/08/25/taliban-yang-beristiqamah-dan-berubah/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=HarakahDaily |language=ms}} this claim was also disputed as numerous evident news reports indicated that the Taliban engaged in the persecution of Hazaras (who numerous Taliban fighters deem as heretical), censorship against journalists and the news media, violence against journalists, arbitrary arrest and detention, political repression.{{Cite web |last=O’Donnell |first=Lynne |date=2022-03-22 |title=As the World Watches Ukraine, Afghanistan Goes Full Taliban |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/03/22/afghanistan-taliban-control-arrest-journalists-women/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Foreign Policy |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2022-03-30 |title=Taliban Intensify Attacks on Afghan Media |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/30/taliban-intensify-attacks-afghan-media |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=Human Rights Watch |language=en}} Most notably, anyone from a religious minority who was an apostate of Islam is sentenced to death.{{Cite web |last1=Maenza |first1=Nadine |last2=Davie |first2=Frederick A. |date=2022-03-01 |title=Biden must prioritize the resettlement of Afghanistan's religious minorities |url=https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/religious-rights/596352-biden-must-prioritize-the-resettlement-of-afghanistans/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}

In February 2022, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang spuriously alleged that various media were anti-Islam and slandered the Taliban, as according to him, the media were making unsubstantiated claims that the Taliban were denying girls and women the right to education.{{Cite web |last=Awang |first=Abdul Hadi |date=2022-02-11 |title=Mengapa Afghanistan ditakuti, Israel dinormalisasi |trans-title=Why Afghanistan is feared, Israel is normalized |url=https://harakahdaily.net/index.php/2022/02/11/mengapa-afghanistan-ditakuti-israel-dinormalisasi/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=HarakahDaily |language=ms}} However, in March 2022, numerous evident news reports indicated that the Taliban prevented girls from attending secondary schools throughout the educational system of Afghanistan, generating widespread condemnation amid a global outcry.{{Cite web |date=2022-03-23 |title=Taliban's backtracking on girls' education, 'deeply damaging' |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1114482 |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=UN News |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2022-03-23 |title=Afghanistan: Taliban backtrack on reopening high schools for girls |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-60845540 |access-date=2022-04-29}}{{Cite web |date=2022-03-23 |title=Taliban decide against opening schools to girls in Afghanistan beyond age of 11 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/23/girls-in-afghanistan-school-taliban |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}{{Cite news |title=Taliban reverses decision, barring Afghan girls from attending school beyond 6th grade |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/03/23/1088202759/taliban-afghanistan-girls-school |access-date=2022-04-29}}{{Cite web |last=Gannon |first=Kathy |date=2022-03-24 |title=Taliban Break Promise on Higher Education for Afghan Girls |url=https://thediplomat.com/2022/03/taliban-break-promise-on-higher-education-for-afghan-girls/ |access-date=2022-04-29 |website=The Diplomat |language=en-US}}

Sisters in Islam had criticized PAS for unconstitutional Shariah enactment on the recent update of the Shariah law of the Kelantan penal code including:

• attempting to convert out of Islam
• distortion of Islamic teachings
• disrespecting the month of Ramadan
• destroying houses of worship
• disobeying parents
• tattooing
• undergoing plastic surgery.

This has sparked another controversy where the punishments include a jail term of not more than three years and a fine of up to RM5,000 or six strokes of the cane, and that the punishment is categorized under ta'zir (crimes with discretionary punishments) and not under hudud (Islamic Penal Code).{{cite web |url = https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/11/02/new-syariah-laws-in-kelantan-include-forbidding-sexual-intercourse-with-corpses |title = Kelantan's new syariah laws criminalizes tattooing and plastic surgery|date= 2 November 2021 |work =The Star}}{{cite web |url =https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/11/02/sisters-in-islam-questions-kelantan-shariah-enactment/ |title =Sisters in Islam questions Kelantan Shariah enactment |date = 2 November 2021}}

PAS had sparked another controversy where several of its lawmakers criticised flight stewardess uniform attire they claimed that it is "too revealing" and added that flight stewardesses must be allowed to wear a hijab. Following those two statements, Sisters in Islam (SIS) said the issue had taken priority over other concerns somehow and they claim that ministerial directives should not interfere with a company's policy which may subject to extra rebranding and production costs unless there were issues of safety, health and security. National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia vice secretary-general S Shashi Kumar also publicly stated that this complaint is "nonsensical" when he said the baju kebaya has become a fashion statement in southeast Asia. He said, "Royal Brunei Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Garuda Indonesia have adopted the baju kebaya as the uniform for their female flight attendants." Transport minister Anthony Loke had said “We are aware that this is not a new policy and there is nothing new, but there are no plans to change the existing policies on the dressing of stewards and stewardesses. The image and outfit depend on the airline company.".He added that “The Ministry has no restriction if Muslim air stewardesses choose to wear attire that is Syariah compliant as long as it fulfils the criteria set by CAAM," It looks like PAS leaders lack knowledge of the Malay heritage and criticising their traditional attire, responded the Global Human Rights Federation.{{cite web |url = https://worldofbuzz.com/look-away-if-you-think-flight-attendant-uniforms-are-too-revealing-says-transport-minister/ |title = "Look Away If You Think Flight Attendant Uniforms Are Too Revealing," Says Transport Minister|date= 2 August 2018}}{{cite web |url = https://www.todayonline.com/world/cabin-crews-outfit-revealing-then-avert-your-eyes |title =Cabin crew's outfit 'revealing'? Then avert your eyes |date= 2 August 2018}}{{cite web |url = https://sg.news.yahoo.com/look-away-then-says-transport-072246143.html |title ='Look away then' says Transport Minister after PAS lawmaker complains of 'sexy' cabin crew uniforms |work =Yahoo News |date= 2 August 2018}}{{cite news |url = https://focusmalaysia.my/is-baju-kebaya-a-problem-for-you-ngo-chides-pas-mp-over-air-stewardess-attire-remark/ |title ="Is baju kebaya a problem to you?": PAS MP chided over air stewardess attire remark! |newspaper =Focus Malaysia - Business & Beyond |date= 11 November 2021}}

Following the fame of Malaysia's local liquor company, Timah Whiskey after winning two silver medals in the Tasting Awards for the International Spirits Challenge 2020 (ISC) as well as the Annual San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2020 (SFWSC), PAS urged Ismail Sabri Yaakob's Cabinet for the company to be shut down stating that it "to prevent triggering the sensitivity of Muslims in the country" and "to avoid a precedent of new liquor companies emerging". PAS also states that they had to face numerous severe backlash. PAS Deputy President, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, said that "We have always been consistent in our stance against alcohol because it is clear that it is haram according to the Quran,".{{cite web |url =https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/10/18/pas-ulama-council-wants-four-actions-to-address-timah-whiskey-controversy|title =PAS Ulama Council wants four actions to address Timah whiskey controversy |date = 18 October 2021}}{{cite web |url =https://worldofbuzz.com/pas-wants-local-whiskey-timah-to-rebrand-as-the-name-may-cause-confusion-for-muslims/|title =PAS Wants Local Whiskey 'TIMAH' To Rebrand As The Name May Cause Confusion For Muslims |date = 19 October 2021}}{{cite web |url =https://www.expatgo.com/my/2021/11/17/of-pas-timah-whiskey-and-barbra-streisand/|title =Of PAS, Timah Whiskey, and Barbra Streisand |date = 17 November 2021}}

The request was denied by Ismail Sabri Yaakob's Cabinet where they had decided to rule against the decision. Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob state that the "cannot cause concern to the people in the context of race and religion".

PAS Deputy President, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, states "For me, the ' people's anxiety ' can be considered as ' the confusion of the people, especially the Malay-Muslims ' ". Tuan Ibrahim was also reported by the media on October 19 as saying that the brand and logo of Timah whiskey "can be confusing" and asked for it to be reviewed.{{cite web |url =https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2021/11/15/pas-mca-dan-timah/|title =PAS, MCA, and Timah |date = 15 November 2021}}{{cite web |url =https://www.thetruenet.com/news/pas-unhappy-with-timah-decision/|title =PAS unhappy with Timah decision|date = 14 November 2021}}

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has claimed that people who advocate for the English language to be taught in Malaysia are "stuck in a colonial mindset". Expanding on this point, he said such Malaysians seemed to be embarrassed to use their national language (Malay) and had placed greater importance on English. In the PAS party newspaper, Harakah Hadi wrote an article titled "Ignore the delirious voices which are trying to reduce the importance of the Malay language" where in it he stated that such advocates "are behaving like slaves to the former colonial masters despite having been freed from their clutches". Additionally in the same article he further went on to say that "advertisements in shops and the market, as well as the names of cities and roads, are named in English even though a majority of its target audience does not know English, at the same time, they do not care about whether their audiences consist of Malaysians who do not know English".{{cite web |url =https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2022/07/03/those-who-prefer-english-are-trapped-in-colonial-mindset-says-pas|title = Those who prefer English are trapped in a colonial mindset, says PAS |date =3 July 2022 }}{{cite web |url =https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/07/03/those-pushing-for-english-stuck-in-colonial-mindset-says-hadi/|title =Those pushing for English stuck in a colonial mindset, says Hadi|date =3 July 2022}}{{cite web |url =https://worldofbuzz.com/msians-who-prioritize-english-language-are-stuck-in-colonial-mindset-according-to-pas-president/|title =M'sians Who Prioritize English Language Are Stuck In Colonial Mindset, According To PAS President|date = 6 July 2022}}

PAS's general assembly ("Muktamar") elects the party's president, Deputy President, three vice presidents and a multi-member Central Working Committee. The assembly is held annually, but elections occur only once every two years. The assembly is composed mainly of delegates elected by individual local divisions of the party.{{Harvnb|Müller|2014|p=46}} The day-to-day administration of the party is carried out by its Secretary-General, a position appointed by the party's leadership.{{harvnb|Chin Tong|2007}} The Central Working Committee is ostensibly the party's principal decision-making body, although its decisions are susceptible to being overturned by the Syura Council, an unelected body composed only of Muslim clerics and led by the party's Spiritual Leader ("Musyidul 'Am").{{harvnb|Liow|2009|p=36}} The relationship between the different administrative bodies within the party occasionally causes conflict. In 2014, the Central Working Committee voted to support the nomination of Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the President of the People's Justice Party, to be the Chief Minister of the Pakatan Rakyat government in Selangor. Abdul Hadi Awang, as PAS's president and with the backing of the Syura Council, overturned the decision and nominated different candidates.{{cite news|url=http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/09/08/PAS-syura-council-subject-muktamar/|title=PAS syura council must abide by muktamar resolutions, says Wan Saiful|last=Akil Yunus|date=8 September 2014|work=The Star|access-date=16 November 2014}}

The party has three recognised sub-organisations for different categories of party members: an ulama wing (the "Dewan Ulama") for Muslim clerics, a women's wing (the "Dewan Muslimat") and a youth wing (the "Dewan Pemuda"). Each wing elects its leadership at its general assembly. There is a fourth wing for non-Muslim supporters of the party, although it does not have the same recognised position in the party's structure as the other three wings.

PAS has approximately one million members,{{Harvnb|Farish|2012|p=408}} more than any other opposition party in Malaysia.{{Harvnb|Farish|2014|p=10}} PAS members often distinguish themselves from UMNO members through cultural and religious practices. For Islamic headwear, males who support PAS tend to prefer the white, soft kopiah, while UMNO supporters tend to wear the traditional Malay songkok, a rigid black cap.{{Harvnb|Daniels|2005|p=45}} Some areas of Malaysia host rival mosques catering for the members and supporters of each party.{{Harvnb|Riddell|2005|p=142}}

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{{col-2}}

• Spiritual Leader:
• Hashim Jasin
• Deputy Spiritual Leader:
• Ahmad Yakob
• Permanent Chairperson:
• Hussin Ismail
• Deputy Permanent Chairperson:
• Kamal Ashaari
• President:
• Abdul Hadi Awang
• Deputy President:
• Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man
• Vice-president:
• Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar
• Mohd Amar Abdullah
• Idris Ahmad
• Dewan Ulamak's Chief:
• Ustaz Haji Ahmad Yahaya
• Dewan Pemuda's Chief:
• Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden
• Dewan Muslimat's Chief:
• Nuridah Mohd Salleh
• DHPP Chief:
• Balasubramaniam Nachiappan
• Secretary-General:
• Takiyuddin Hassan
• Deputy Secretary-General:
• Khairul Faizi Ahmad Kamil
• Khairul Fahmi Mat Som
• Mohd Syahir Che Sulaiman
• Treasurer:
• Iskandar Abdul Samad
• Information Chief:
• Ahmad Fadhli Shaari
• Election Director:
• Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor

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• Central Working Committee (Elected):
• Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi
• Azman Ibrahim
• Halimah Ali
• Ahmad Fadhli Shaari
• Ahmad Marzuk Shaary
• Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff
• Awang Hashim
• Ahmad Amzad Hashim
• Mohd. Nassuruddin Daud
• Mohamed Fadzli Hassan
• Kamaruzaman Mohamad
• Najihatussalehah Ahmad
• Misbahul Munir Masduki
• Rosni Adam
• Central Working Committee (Appointed):
• Nasrudin Hassan
• Mohd Yusni Mat Piah
• Wan Rohimi Wan Daud
• Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki
• Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh
• Ahmad Yunus Hairi
• Mohd Mazri Yahya
• Annuar Musa
• Shahidan Kassim
• State Commissioner:
• Perlis : Mohd. Shukri Ramli
• Kedah : Ahmad Yahaya
• Kelantan : Ahmad Yakob
• Terengganu :Husin Awang
• Penang : Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff
• Perak : Razman Zakaria
• Pahang : Rosli Abdul Jabar
• Selangor : Ab Halim Tamuri
• Federal Territory : Azhar Yahya
• Negeri Sembilan : Mohammad Fairuz Mohammad Isa
• Malacca : Zulkifli Ismail
• Johor : Abdullah Hussin
• Sabah : Aliakbar Gulasan
• Sarawak : Jofri Jaraiee

{{col-end}}

{{clear}}

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{{main|Members of the Dewan Negara, 15th Malaysian Parliament}}

• Kelantan:
• Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz
• Wan Martina Wan Yusoff
• Terengganu:
• Hussin Ismail
• Che Alias Hamid
• Kedah:
• Abd Nasir Idris
• Musoddak Ahmad
• Perlis
• Baharuddin Ahmad

{{main|Members of the Dewan Rakyat, 15th Malaysian Parliament}}

PAS has the highest number of members in Dewan Rakyat among political parties, with 43 members.

{{main|List of Malaysian State Assembly Representatives (2023–present)}}

PAS has 149 members of state legislative assemblies, more than any other parties. It has representatives in every assembly other than those of Sarawak. The party holds a majority in the Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis State Legislative Assemblies.

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Terengganu State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|27|32|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

Kelantan State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|37|45|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

Perlis State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|9|15|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

Kedah State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|21|36|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

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Pahang State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|15|47|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

Perak State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|17|59|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

Selangor State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|10|56|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

Penang State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|7|40|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

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Negeri Sembilan State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|3|36|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

Malacca State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|1|28|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

Johor State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|1|56|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

Sabah State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|1|79|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

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Sarawak State Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar|0|82|hex={{Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party/meta/shading}}}}

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PAS currently governs the states of Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan, and Terengganu.

Previously, when it was a component of Pakatan Rakyat, PAS was part of the Penang and Selangor state governments.

After 2020 Sheraton Move it witnessed change of state government, PAS itself teamed up with Barisan Nasional, to formed new state government. Currently, PAS was part of the Perak, Pahang, and Johor state governments.

• Kelantan (1959–1978, 1990–present)
• Terengganu (1959–1961, 1999–2004, 2018–present)
• Perlis (2022–present)
• Kedah (2008–2013, 2020–present)
• Perak (2008–2009, 2020–2022)
• Pahang (2020–2022)
• Johor (2020–2022)
• Sabah (2020–2022)
• Penang (2008–2015)
• Selangor (2008–2018)

• List of Islamic political parties

{{Reflist|colwidth=25em}}

• {{cite book|last=Daniels|first=Timothy P.|title=Building Cultural Nationalism in Malaysia: Identity, Representation, and Citizenship|year=2005|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=0415949718}}
• {{cite book|last=Farish A. Noor|title=The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought|year=2012|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1400838554|pages=408–409|chapter=Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS)|ref=CITEREFFarish2012}}
• {{cite book|last=Farish A. Noor|author-link=Farish A. Noor|title=The Malaysian Islamic Party 1951-2013: Islamism in a Mottled Nation|year=2014|publisher=Amsterdam University Press|isbn=9789089645760|ref=CITEREFFarish2014}}
• {{cite book|last=Function|first=John|editor1-last=Swee-Hock|editor1-first=Saw|editor2-last=Kesavapany|editor2-first=K.|title=Malaysia: Recent Trends and Challenges|year=2006|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=9812303391|pages=132–156|chapter=The Malay Electorate in 2004: Reversing the Result}}
• {{cite journal|last=Funston|first=N. J.|date=1976|title=The Origins of Parti Islam Se Malaysia|journal=Journal of Southeast Asian Studies|volume=7|issue=1|pages=58–73|issn=0022-4634|doi=10.1017/s0022463400010262|s2cid=155087515 |jstor=20070163 }}
• {{cite book|last1=Hooker|first1=Virginia|last2=Norani Othman|title=Malaysia: Islam, Society and Politics|series=ISEAS series on Islam|year=2003|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|isbn=9812301615|ref=CITEREFHooker & Norani2003}}
• {{cite journal|last=Chin Tong |first=Liew |author-link=Liew Chin Tong|year=2007|title=Pas Leadership: New Faces and Old Constraints|journal=Southeast Asian Affairs|volume=2007|issue=1|pages=201–213|issn=0377-5437|doi=10.1355/SEAA07J|doi-broken-date=16 January 2025 }}
• {{cite book|last=Liow|first=Joseph Chinyong|title=Piety and Politics: Islamism in Contemporary Malaysia|year=2009|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780195377088}}
• {{cite book|last=Müller|first=Dominik M.|title=Islam, Politics and Youth in Malaysia: The Pop-Islamist Reinvention of PAS|series=Routledge Contemporary Southeast Asia Series|year=2014|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1317912989}}
• {{cite book|last=Riddell|first=Peter G.|editor1-last=Marshall|editor1-first=Paul|title=Radical Islam's Rules: The Worldwide Spread of Extreme Shari'a Law|year=2005|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|isbn=1461686903|pages=135–160|chapter=Islamization and Partial Shari'a in Malaysia}}
• {{cite journal|last=Stark|first=Jan|year=2004|title=Constructing an Islamic Model in Two Malaysian States: PAS Rule in Kelantan and Terengganu|journal=Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia|publisher=Institute of Southeast Asian Studies|volume=19|issue=1|pages=51–75|issn=0217-9520|doi=10.1355/sj19-1c|doi-broken-date=16 January 2025 |s2cid=145124619}}
• {{cite journal|last=Sundaram|first=Jomo Kwame|author2=Ahmad Shabery Cheek |year=1988|title=The Politics of Malaysia's Islamic Resurgence|journal=Third World Quarterly|publisher=Taylor & Francis|volume=10|issue=2|pages=843–868|ref=CITEREFSundaram & Ahmad1988 | doi = 10.1080/01436598808420085 }}

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• {{Official website|http://www.pas.org.my/}}
• [http://www.harakahdaily.net Harakahdaily] (PAS party newspaper in Malay)
• [http://en.harakah.net.my/ Harakahdaily] (PAS party newspaper in English)

{{Malaysian political parties}}

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Category:Political parties in Malaysia

Category:Islamic political parties in Malaysia

Category:Political parties established in 1951

Category:1951 establishments in Malaya

Category:Defunct political parties in Singapore

Category:Far-right politics in Asia

Category:Islamist groups

Category:Social conservative parties

Category:Islamic organizations established in 1951