It was about 10pm and the usually quiet town of Rasa was full of energy and vibrancy. For many people in this small town, it must be the first time in their life that they are meeting in flesh and blood the most influential Muslim leader in Malaysia. For those uninitiated, this turbaned small frame figure wearing long flowing robe covered with a vest and supported with a walking stick can be just another typical Muslim going to the surau nearby for his prayers.
But this Pak Haji is no ordinary Malay-Muslim that we usually sees around us. This man can easily sway at least 30% of the Muslims in this country on any other issue of the day. Even at age 79 and sometimes troubled with fatigue he still traversed all over the country speaking and meeting with his staunched party supporters and followers of the Islamic faith. This extraodinary man is Nik Abdul Aziz or affectionately known as Tok Guru who is the Mursyidul Am or spiritual adviser of the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS) and Chief Minister for the State of Kelantan for the last 20 years.
The mostly Chinese crowd of about 2,000 attending the PKR campaign dinner at the Dewan Serbaguna JKKK Rasa were very excited and curious to see and listen to the Tok Guru for the first time. Earlier outside the main road groups of men wearing turban or ketayap who are most probably PAS members and supporters had waited for their Tok Guru's arrival for his maiden speech to the Chinese community in Rasa.
The roofted open-air basketball court where the dinner was held provided the necessary shade from the short shower minutes earlier. Those who did not managed to purchase the RM30 a seat dinner encircled around the hall to listen to the speeches.
While other speakers spoke from a rostrum, Nik Aziz was seated on a plastic chair on stage. Having just returned from Mecca, he is still recovering from fatigue. The stage is now left to him to deliver his message to the voters of Rasa. Tok Guru in his stern and fatherly voice transmitted his message to the audience to support the PR candidate Zaid Ibrahim. The audience are those who are already converted, meaning already prepared to support Zaid but they came to listen anyway as it is not always the Tok Guru visits Rasa.
Tok Guru task in getting the Chinese support will not be much of a problem but he will be facing huge challenge to turn over the core Umno supporters in Ulu Bernam. It will be an uphill task but if he can convert 5% - 10% of the Malay-Muslim voters, Zaid should be able to scrap through with a small majority.
The day of reckoning will be on April 25 and the nation waits for the result of the most eagerly contested by-election in recent memory. The result will be a preview on the direction of the nation's political agenda in the near future.
Tok Guru task in getting the Chinese support will not be much of a problem but he will be facing huge challenge to turn over the core Umno supporters in Ulu Bernam. It will be an uphill task but if he can convert 5% - 10% of the Malay-Muslim voters, Zaid should be able to scrap through with a small majority.
The day of reckoning will be on April 25 and the nation waits for the result of the most eagerly contested by-election in recent memory. The result will be a preview on the direction of the nation's political agenda in the near future.
P.S. - While writing this article on the Tok Guru, I can't avoid from thinking of another religious man extraordinaire which I had the affinity to know personally, i.e. the late Venerable Dr. K. Sri Dhammananda Nayaka Maha Thera who is also fondly known as "The Chief" by his devotees and those close to him. These two great men of religion truly provided the platform and cultivate the landscape that reflects the true meaning of living in a multi-religious Malaysia. - Loka
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