A REGULAR cartoon feature in a Malay daily last week commented on a very current issue: "PAS mahu lelong litar F1. Lepas tu boleh bina padang lumba unta (PAS wants to auction off the Formula One circuit. Then, it can build a turf for camel races)."
Appearing in Senyum Kambing, the front-page cartoon of Utusan Malaysia, that particular issue may be witty to some, but to PAS supporters, it may be dastardly.
Regardless of which way readers want to regard it, one has to accept the fact that it has managed to articulate a very contemporary political issue.
That cartoon came about after PAS president Datuk Fadzil Noor said that his party will auction Putrajaya off to foreigners if it got into power.
Drawing strong criticism from numerous quarters, many felt that Fadzil had put his foot in his mouth.
A similar situation occurred when another of PAS' stalwarts, Datuk Harun Din, talked about wanting to pull Perlis out of Malaysia if his party won the state.
As with Fadzil, Harun also received a lot of flak.
One can't help but wonder how such remarks can be uttered by so-called seasoned politicians like Fadzil or an academician like Harun.
But for those familiar with PAS' political ceramahs, it is not surprising to see politicians making baseless allegations and ridiculous promises.
They can't help but get carried away especially when the crowd is verysupportive and in the case of PAS' ceramahs, the crowds are known to be very responsive, shouting Allahuakbar at every opportunity and prompting speakers to spice up their speeches further.
Fadzil, when asked to comment on Harun's remarks, reflected these realities when he said the statement about Perlis was mere political talk.
With that, the Malays who are currently caught up with the political euphoria, should realise that it is time for them to start sieving what politicians are feeding them with.
It may be a difficult thing to do it as in many instances, the politicians dispensing the political rhetoric are of certain stature, smarmy they may be, but without doubt, downright impressive.
These problems are further aggravated as most political parties have decided the general election is getting closer.
So, there is no stopping them from stepping up their political campaigns and ceramahs, meaning that dosages of "political talk" which are meant to foment emotions, high hopes and spiritual bliss will be dispensed recklessly.
While these developments are taking place, other political power plays are not ignored.
An example is the recent attempt by PAS deputy president Abdul Hadi Awang to table a private member's Bill in parliament which calls for a death sentence on apostates.
The move, yet again, will put Umno members in difficulty as to how to deal with the issue.
On one hand, PAS will insist that such laws are derived from the Islamic source of syariah (Islamic laws) vis-a-vis the Quran, Hadith (prophetic traditions) qiyas (analogy) and ijmak (popular consensus).
The minute Barisan Nasional MPs oppose the Bill, PAS will go back to the Malay voters and point out that Umno rejects the laws of Islam.
To support it will mean that Umno had ignored the concept of multi-racial co-operation with its component parties.
Such traps laid by PAS for Umno are nothing new, says Zainuddin Mohd Noor, Umno MP from Pasir Mas.
"But the point here is that PAS is not pushing for such laws because of religion, but purely to score points with the Malay voters."
Some quarters have also questioned why PAS is so bent on pushing for the death sentence when its hudud (Islamic penal code) laws in Kelantan is silent on the punishment for apostasy.
Detractors of PAS may continue to insist that Hadi's Bill is purely political but for the party leaders, it is their commitment to pursue the cause of Islam and its laws and many of the Malay voters are convinced of this.
Another question that comes from Hadi's move is whether PAS will introduce such laws if it comes into power.
Raising this question may be perceived by PAS supporters as trying to scare off non-Muslim voters but the reality remains--the party is co-operating with DAP in this general election and the co-operation is anything but strong.
As such, it has to consider the fear non-Malays have for such laws whether they are applicable to them or otherwise.
These aspects can be expected to be exploited fully by Barisan soon if it is not already at it.
But looking at the way things are going, PAS is not going to change its way of doing things.
And there is no reason for them to do so as PAS has been doing quite well in gaining support from the Malay community.
This has been proven ever since the political crisis started after the sacking of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and PAS took the lead in almost all the political movements which opposed the manner the former deputy prime minister was treated.
As such, it has shown its mettle in the nation's political power play.
In that sense, Utusan Malaysia's cartoon strip was wrong when it said PAS is going to replace the Formula One circuit with a camel racing turf.
It will retain the circuit. However, the racers instead of helmets will sport skull caps and serban (headgear of the ulamak).