KUALA LUMPUR: Pas' move to amend its constitution to allow non-Muslims to join as associate members has been dismissed as desperate and poorly conceived.
Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Dr Azmi Hassan said it fails to address the underlying trust issues non-Muslims have with Pas.
"Currently, non-Muslims have little to no confidence in Pas due to its extreme views on religion and race."
He noted that non-Muslims who wish to support the party do not need to become members and that the move showed Pas' acknowledgement that its support base is largely confined to the Malay community.
"It feels like a weak attempt to garner support and highlights their desperation and lack of vision in attracting non-Malay (non-Muslim) votes."
International Islamic University Malaysia's political analyst Dr Syaza Shukri questioned the true impact of the move.
"The term 'associate member' raises questions. What does that mean?
"If it doesn't offer the same rights as full membership, why the difference in title?" she said.
While Pas might draw some support from the Indian community given their under-representation in the current system, she said, the Chinese community still has strong alternatives like DAP and Gerakan.
"Pas needs to significantly change its tone and assure non-Muslims that their rights would not be infringed upon for this move to have any real impact."
Pas had, on Saturday, amended its constitution to open the party's membership to non-Muslims as associate members.
It also unanimously passed six other motions, including amending the party's constitution to prevent members from party-hopping, where any member who defects or goes against the party decisions will automatically lose their membership.
Azmi said the party-hopping amendment was timely.
"DAP has done it, Umno has it, and it is basically embedded in their constitution to prevent party-hopping."
Syaza, meanwhile, said the amendment would eliminate the possibility of defection within the party.