ISLAMIST MOVEMENT IN THE FIELD OF POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN MALAYSIA

Abstract

This research is intended to explain the nature of political participation of two major Islamist movements namely the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and Parti Angkatan Islam (PAS). In essence, the finding of this research defends the idea that UMNO and PAS struggle for power fosters the maturity of Malaysian political discourse as it integrates dynamic Islamic political discourses within the ambit of heterogeneous nature of Malaysian society. The first part of this article explains the theoretical perspective of the nature of Islamist political movement in Malaysia. The second part of this article deliberates the nature of Islamist movements in Malaysia and the government's responses towards these movements. The last part reflects my expec­tation to the future of Islamist movement in Malaysia.