'Benevolent state' everything to do with Islam: PAS Youth

Dec 26: The concept of 'benevolent state' mooted by PAS during its Muktamar last June has crystallized PAS's Islamic identity, said its Youth chief Nasrudin Hasan Tantawi (pic). Reacting to UMNO's claim that the Islamic party deviated from its Islamic principle by calling for a benevolent state, which some media had loosely translated as 'welfare state', Nasrudin said it was expected of UMNO to change tune each time PAS advanced nearer to achieving its objective. “Prior to this, UMNO was the most vocal in opposing PAS’s Islamic state concept. Now when PAS talks about the 'benevolent state', they are busy telling PAS to revert to Islamic state," he remarked in a statement to Harakahdaily. Nasrudin, who is also deputy commissioner for Pahang PAS, explained that the concept of the benevolent state was the second phase of PAS’s struggle, the first being its Islamic state document in 1999. According to Nasrudin, PAS was undertaking practical initiatives by introducing the benevolent state which he said "gives substance to Islamic state", adding that an Islamic state was not only about having Islamic laws in place nor about a government of 'mullahs' as frequently alleged. "The core to an Islamic state is justice, transparency, integrity and accountability besides servitude to God. "It fulfills the aim of developing good governance which is the core of the benevolent state proposed by PAS,” said Nasrudin, quashing recent remarks that PAS was facing a crisis of identity. Instead, Nasrudin said the benevolent state concept reinforces PAS's Islamic identity with more "practical and implementable" offer to the people.