Islam and the Environment: The Challenge of Developmental Politics in Malaysia with Special Reference to PAS’s Rule in Kelantan

Abstract

The standard of living of a particular country is commonly measured by looking at its national income, which has been widely accepted as being broadly indicative of citizens’ material well-being. Progress in the attainment of such well-being reflects in turn the stage of development which that country is currently in. However, since the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit of 1992, global concern over environmental damage has somewhat overshadowed national policy makers’ obsession with economic growth. Within the context of Malaysia’s politics of development, environmental problems associated with such phenomena as landslides, floods and haze have become more serious throughout the years. Unfortunately, in Malaysia, only non-governmental organisations (NGOs) openly linked to environmental causes are seen to exhibit any genuine concern over the rapidly depleting natural habitat and flora and fauna, and rising levels of pollution. Entities of the Malaysian state, belying its moderate and even Islamic pretensions, have hesitated to address environmental issues for fear of ruffling feathers that are potentially damaging to political and economic support of the powers at the federal or state levels of government. This is ironic considering that Islam, viewed in comprehensive terms as many Islamists would like to, supposedly abhors neglect or even pillage of the environment. Despite the increasing vociferousness of Islamist civil society in recent years, their response to environmental issues has been surprisingly muted. The discourse on Islam in Malaysia has been unduly dominated by politico-legal issues such that environmental decline, which arguably reflects also a general spiritual malaise, hardly figures among Islamist actors in both the state and civil society. Worse still, in states where Islamists control the government, such as Kelantan, those championing Islam are seen as colluding with capitalist interests to the detriment of marginalised communities that Islam, by right, should be defending. Using empirical data from Kelantan, this chapter seeks to interrogate the manifest failure of Islamism as a political ideology in addressing worsening environmental standards, contrary to oft-cited claims of Islam being a solution to all problems. A lack of spirituality in the programme of activists and parties that purportedly champion Islam is identified as a bane that urgently needs addressing, especially if elements of the Malaysian state are adamant in maintaining Islam as a partner and contributor to development.