Not Everyone Contesting GE13 is Signed-Up to Religious Tolerance

A multi-faith society needs three things in order to be successful. Yes, it needs a constitution that guarantees freedom of religion – that's a given. But it also needs the rakyat to accept this idea at a personal level and the political parties agreeing to it at an ideological level. Only then can followers of minority faiths feel safe and at ease in their worship.
So with GE13 within touching distance, it has to be asked: Which parties really stand for religious tolerance? They will all tell you they do, because no party gets to the eve of facing the people at general election saying, "by the way, the constitution is wrong". But whatever they claim, they can be judged by their track record and, yes, we are talking about PAS.
This isn't the "Allah" controversy, because even the PM came out and said the word shouldn't be used in the Malay language Bible. This is about a petty official in Kota Baru issuing a summons against a teenager for giving his girlfriend a piggy-back.
That Chinese teenager no doubt thought this act was acceptable within his faith and, given he didn't offend public morality, it was acceptable within the law. So all the public protestations by PAS in Kelantan that such a clampdown is all about decency defies belief as they should not exert what they consider acceptable or not under Islam on other faiths.
This youth was been targeted because his behaviour didn't fit with a particular religious group's beliefs and that is, by definition, imposing one set of religious values on an individual of another faith. It is also known as religious intolerance.
The same applies for unmarried couples sitting next to each other at the cinema – this is permitted amongst Christian denominations, so what would be the motive for stopping it, as occurred in Selangor last year?
And what about those who believe it within the bounds of their religious faith to have their hair cut by a member of the opposite sex? Or want to see Elton John (targeted by PAS because he is homosexual), or Beyonce (promotes hedonism)? And what about sending a Valentine's Day card to someone special?
PAS wants to stop all of this and doesn't care if it means interfering with the freedom allowed under other faiths. This is the big difference from its quest for hudud, which it argues – for now at least – is only for Muslims.
Despite notionally signing up to the idea of freedom of religion, the behaviour of PAS tells us that even if they don't want everyone to convert to Islam on day one of a Pakatan Government, they sure want everyone to be ruled by its definitions of what is acceptable.
And remember, this is the same PAS that hopes to contest up to 90 federal seats at GE13 and is so confident of emerging stronger within a Pakatan Government that still it talks of party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang being Prime Minister.
The political leader in Malaysia who has unimpeachable credentials on the issue of religious tolerance is Datuk Seri Najib Razak. He has staked his entire reputation on the idea of religious tolerance with his Global Movement of Moderates.
That's why Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs so publicly support his leadership. He is living proof that a nation can have Islam as its dominant religion and still be tolerant and cohesive.
Pakatan Rakyat can't make that claim as long as PAS is in the picture.