Argue On Merit Don T Hide Behind Labels

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 The hope for PAS to evolve and become a party that combines moral integrity with progressive governance is not delusional.
Dear Terence Netto,
Let me be clear, I am not suffering from any “derangement syndrome“. That kind of lazy insult might win applause among the cocktail circuit liberals you appeal to, but it does nothing to advance honest discourse.
If you wish to disagree with me, then do so by addressing what I actually said, not by distorting it into something more convenient for your narrative.
I did not call for clerical rule or promote the Iranian model. That’s a fiction of your own making.
I merely pointed out that PAS is more than its clerics. The party has technocrats, professionals, and grassroots machinery that many urban liberals conveniently ignore.
To smear the party wholesale reveals more about your prejudices than about PAS itself.
My hope is for PAS to evolve and to become a party that combines moral integrity with progressive governance.
That is not delusional. That is pragmatism grounded in the reality that the so-called “liberals” and “reformists” you champion have failed spectacularly.
They’ve abandoned institutional reform, turned Parliament into a rubber stamp, and shielded selective prosecutions under a hollowed-out rhetoric of democracy.
The outrage my comments triggered only confirms one thing: the liberal elite is deeply unsettled by the possibility that PAS might actually change and challenge the Madani coalition where it matters most, with the people.
If the party you ridicule begins to speak more credibly to justice, fairness, and economic dignity, your camp is finished.
I understand why that frightens you. But don’t hide behind labels. Argue on merit. Or don’t argue at all. - FMT
Zaid Ibrahim is a former law minister.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.

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