.png)
I recently read Abdul Rahim Md Noor’s piece in Newswav about PAS’ so-called jihad donation drive. He posed a powerful question: Why is a political party forcing its ordinary members to fund a leader’s defamation case, and - wait for it - calling it jihad?
That word, jihad, got me thinking. Why slap it onto a donation drive? Do they even know what jihad means?
Understanding Jihad
Let’s clear this up. Jihad is one of the most misunderstood terms in Islam. At its core, jihad is a spiritual struggle, a personal effort to uphold what is good and reject what is wrong. It’s a journey of self-improvement, a fight against your own ego and weaknesses.
Sadly, this inner struggle is often overshadowed by misconceptions. Ask around, and you’ll hear people equating jihad to “holy war” or some kind of fight against the so-called enemies of Islam. But that’s not what it is.
Historically, jihad emerged when early Muslims were driven out of their homes. Permission was granted for them to defend themselves - not to attack non-believers or force anyone into Islam, but to protect themselves from those who actively oppressed them, even if the oppressors were fellow Muslims.
At its heart, jihad isn’t about battles or enemies. It’s about justice. It’s about standing up for what’s right, no matter how hard it gets.
The Defamation Drama
Now, let’s talk about that defamation case involving PAS MP Siti Mastura Muhammad.
Back in 2023, she gave a speech in Kemaman linking three DAP leaders - Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, and Teresa Kok - to the late Communist Party of Malaya leader Chin Peng. The accusation was baseless, and earlier this month, the court ruled in favour of the DAP trio.
Siti Mastura was ordered to pay RM750,000 in damages (RM300,000 to Kit Siang, RM250,000 to Guan Eng, and RM200,000 to Kok), plus RM25,000 in costs for each of them. If she delays payment, a 5% annual interest kicks in.
The judge wasn’t gentle in the ruling. Siti Mastura’s remarks were found to be defamatory and malicious. The court also pointed out that her comments were designed to provoke anger and tarnish reputations, linking the plaintiffs to communism in a way that felt both sinister and dangerous.
PAS has kicked off a “jihad donation drive” to help Siti Mastura pay the jaw-dropping RM825,000. The twist? PAS members are now expected to cover the bill, with branches asked to chip in RM500 each, while state chapters are pressured to cough up a whopping RM20,000.
What PAS Should Do
Here’s the thing: PAS claims to champion Islamic values. If that’s true, then they need to stop hijacking the concept of jihad for political convenience. Calling this donation drive jihad doesn’t just distort the term - it insults its true meaning.
Instead of asking their members to fork out money to cover a leader’s defamation blunder, PAS should focus on teaching their leaders to speak the truth. Lies, malice, and hate speech don’t align with Islamic principles.
Siti Mastura doesn’t need a donation drive. What she needs is to take a good, hard look in the mirror. Declare jihad against her own ego. Reflect, repent, and strive to do better. And honestly, that goes for every leader in PAS.
Jihad isn’t about defaming others. It’s about fighting the ugliness within ourselves. Maybe it’s time PAS walked the talk.
Fa Abdul is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
