What is wrong with lobbying?

Assalamualaikum, On the surface, the letter below, originally published in Harakah, seems a very good letter indeed. But having read it about four times, I see confusion rather than clarity. Let me tell you why: 1. PAS practices democracy in electing its leaders. For democracy to operate properly, the electorates need to know as much as possible about the candidates. And for the candidates to be known to all, they need to be introduced. Their strengths and weaknesses need to be described and discussed at least among the voters. Their vision and capabilities must be understood. But how can these be achieved if lobbying were not allowed? How will the voters get the necessary information to make informed-decisions? 2. In the second paragraph, the author says that "ada juga tersebar surat-surat serupa di internet yang mendedahkan kelemahan individu tertentu". What is wrong with this? If someone were to contest for a public post, then surely their suitability should be discussed in public too. After all, many PAS leaders have been discussing the weaknesses of UMNO leaders all the times. How come it is right to discuss the weaknesses of UMNO personalities but when it come to the weaknesses of PAS' own personalities, oh no.... don't even dare to talk about it!!! If you can do it to those outside PAS, why can you not do it internally? 3. The author went on to say "Akan tetapi biarlah amalan demokrasi ini bertunjangkan Al Quran dan Sunnah". Well, fine. But please do describe to us what does he mean by it? What exactly is democracy based on Al-Quran and Sunnah? If you don't lobby, is that Islamic enough? 4. The author then said: "Biarlah pertandingan itu atas dasar kredibiliti calon tersebut". My reply is: Exactly!!! But how will you know about someone's credibility if lobbying is not allowed? If I were to nominate A for a post, I will need to tell the electorates about A's credibility. How am I supposed to do it if I am not allowed to lobby on his behalf? 5. The author went on to say "Siapa yang terpilih kelak samada mereka ini calon yang kita pilih atau bukan calon yang kita pilih, tanggungjawab kita sebagai ahli hendaklah ditunaikan". Once again, I would say: Exactly!!!. But please do tell me how can I "tunaikan tanggungjawab sebagai ahli" if I have no information about the candidates' abilities, strengths and weaknesses? 6. This is a good statement from the author: "Adalah tidak mustahil sebahagian daripada usaha lobi melobi ini, berkemungkinan sebahagiannya didalangi oleh pihak musuh". I can also say that the effort to prevent members from lobbying COULD (but not necessarily) also originate from the enemies of PAS. If the "enemies" believe that PAS in its current state is weak and divided, then of course they would want us to keep the status quo. Thus, they would not want any lobbying to occur as it may end up with a change for the better. Change scares the enemies. So, they want us to keep things as they are. How? By preventing members from lobbying for new faces who may bring change. 7. The author said "apa salahnya ahli PAS di seluruh negeri mengadakan solat hajat agar setiap cawangan, kawasan, negeri dan peringkat pusat di terajui oleh barisan pimpinan yang bertakwa dan berkaliber". Doa is undoubtedly the most potent weapon for us believers. But doa without action is futile. The real question is, after making the doa, WHAT are the actions that we should take? Should we just nominate and wait for voting day, and then vote without having any knowledge of the candidates? That is like a shop-owner stocking up his shop and then just pray that customers would walk in without even bothering to market his products. By preventing open lobbying, two things would result. Firstly, lobbying would be conducted secretively. This is surely unhealthy. Secondly, voters will only vote for people they know. They cannot judge based on capabilities due to the lack of info. They surely cannot judge new-faces as the new-faces do not yet have any track-record to be judged on. Once again, this too is unhealthy. What is wrong with lobbying? PAS does this all the time. We lobby for positions in government in every election. We lobby to become leaders of the country. Why does lobbying suddenly become wrong when it comes to choosing party leaders? It is indeed very easy to say that lobbying, campaigning, etc are bad. But please do tell me what alternative do we have? How can we ensure that electorates make informed decisions when voting day comes if lobbying and campaigning are not allowed? The key word here is "informed decision". Is there really an alternative to lobbying? If I have the choice, I would say that everyone should go all out, I repeat, "all out", to lobby for votes. PAS is a political party working within a democracy. If proper democracy cannot be practised internally, then what authority do we have to go outside and fight for democracy? The real answer is to create a culture of lobbying with Islamic values and ethics. But please do not run away from the challenge by closing the door to critical examinations of each candidate. As an organization, PAS should allow and encourage candidates to say what they believe in. PAS should encourage open discussions on the suitability of each and every candidate. PAS should create a method to enable members to critically and systematically examine the capabilities of each candidate. PAS must encourage members to listen to all sides. PAS should give every candidate ample time to present and defend their vision. As candidates, they must be willing to be quizzed. The candidates must be willing to proclaim their vision for the party. The candidates must be willing to stand up and say "I believe this is the best way forward". The candidates must be ready to be defend their ideas and to critically appraise the ideas of others. They must be willing to defend their ideas, while at the same time admit if others' ideas are better. Most importantly, as individuals working in an Islamic movement, we should all learn how to agree to disagree healthily. We must learn to accept the decision of the syura (via voting) once the election results are announced. We should be willing to give our wala' to the leaders once they are constitutionally elected. We must put aside all divisions and differences after the election. We must adhere strictly to Allah's command that we obey Allah, Rasul and the leaders amongst us. And we must work together to strengthen the party once the election is over. After all, we have already been shown by the kuffar that healthy lobbying is possible. Kerry and Edwards fought each other healthily to get their party's nomination. Once Kerry received the party's backing, Edwards accepted defeat and subsequently agreed to team up with Kerry. They were rivals when it was time to show rivalry. They teamed up when it was time to team up. From rivals, they become running mates. Are we saying that these two non-muslims practices more Islamic values and ethics than those contesting for positions in PAS? Come on...... Pemilihan pucuk pimpinan PAS: Elakkan budaya melobi Tuesday, March 08 @ 16:09:19 MYT Oleh Rozmal bin Malakan Tahun 2005 adalah merupakan tahun pemilihan pucuk pimpinan PAS peringkat Pusat, Kawasan dan Cawangan.Sudah mula tersebar surat-surat tanpa nama di internet akan usaha-usaha untuk melobi nama seseorang sebagai mereka yang akan berada di barisan pimpinan di semua peringkat. Dan sudah ada juga tersebar surat-surat serupa di internet yang mendedahkan kelemahan individu tertentu. Jika dalam UMNO, politik wang digunakan dalam usaha lobi melobi ini. Tapi dalam PAS, disebabkan budaya politik wang ini bukannya menjadi amalan ahli, mungkin kerana Allah SWT belum uji lagi dengan kekayaan dan harta sepertimana yang dihadapi oleh UMNO, maka politik wang tidak digunakan. Maka pelobi-pelobi yang bernama dan tidak bernama tadi menggunakan amalan politik siapa yang lebih banyak berjasa pada parti, siapa yang lebih akrab dengan Almarhum Presiden dan juga siapa yang lebih mesra dengan Tuan Guru Presiden sedia ada dan pelbagai hujjah lain. Sememangnya amalan demokrasi diamalkan dalam PAS dalam pemilihan parti. Akan tetapi biarlah amalan demokrasi ini bertungjangkan Al Quran dan Sunnah. Calonkanlah apa-apa nama pun yang difikirkan sesuai dengan kebolehan mereka akan tetapi elakkan adanya puak-puak untuk setiap calon itu. Biarlah pertandingan itu atas dasar kredibiliti calon tersebut, bukannya atas dasar ada puak yang melobi sesetengah calon. Yang utama setiap ahli hendaklah berserah dan bermunajjat kepada Allah SWT, agar kita diberikan barisan pimpinan yang mantap yang dapat menerajui PAS ke arah memartabatkan dan mendaulatkan Islam di Malaysia ini. Siapa yang terpilih kelak samada mereka ini calon yang kita pilih atau bukan calon yang kita pilih, tanggungjawab kita sebagai ahli hendaklah ditunaikan. Amalan budaya kerja berjemaah dan bersama dalam misi dan visi barisan pimpinan haruslah dicernakan dalam setiap kawasan dan cawangan. Jika tidak kita akan hanya menjadi bak kata pepatah, "Menang bersorak, Kampung tergadai". Adalah tidak mustahil sebahagian daripada usaha lobi melobi ini, berkemungkinan sebahagiannya didalangi oleh pihak musuh, sepertimana usaha mereka untuk melemahkan Islam dalam strategi "Divide and Conquer". Melemahkan PAS dari dalam adalah apa yang diperkatakan oleh pepatah Inggeris "If You Can't Beat Them, Join Them", yang bermaksud kalau kita tidak boleh tewaskan mereka dari luar, sertai mereka. Sekiranya kita dibudayakan dengan melakukan solat hajat apabila menghadapi sesuatu situasi besar mengapa apa salahnya ahli PAS di seluruh negeri mengadakan solat hajat agar setiap cawangan, kawasan, negeri dan peringkat pusat di terajui oleh barisan pimpinan yang bertakwa dan berkaliber yang disenangi oleh semua ahli dan bukan ahli yang boleh membawa keadilan Islam di Malaysia ini. Wallahu a’lam.