Blaming PAS for poverty is lazy analysis

By rivo_admin · May 26, 2026 · 4 min read

From Ahmad Fadhli Shaari

I refer to the letter titled “PAS rule produces poor states, but do voters care?” by Jeffri Saling.

The letter pushes an old and lazy political stereotype: that PAS governs poor states because the party itself supposedly produces poverty.

It sounds clever.

But the argument collapses the moment we apply the same standard consistently.

Yes, Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah record lower income levels than richer, urban states. Nobody disputes that. But reducing decades of economic imbalance into a simplistic slogan of “PAS causes poverty” is not a serious analysis. It is political propaganda disguised as statistics.

The writer conveniently zooms in on PAS, while zooming out from everything else that actually shapes development in Malaysia: federal centralisation, unequal infrastructure distribution, industrial concentration, petroleum royalty disputes, migration patterns, historical neglect, and political discrimination against opposition states.

If PAS automatically creates poverty, then explain Sabah.

Sabah records the highest incidence of poverty in Malaysia, yet it is not governed by PAS.

Nobody says “Sabah is poor because of PAS ideology”. Why? Because when Sabah is discussed, suddenly everyone becomes intelligent enough to talk about geography, infrastructure gaps, federal neglect, industry limitations, and structural inequality.

But when it comes to Kelantan, all that intellectual honesty disappears.

Suddenly the explanation becomes: “PAS voters are poor because they vote for PAS.”

That is not an analysis. It is arrogance.

The reality is simple: poverty does not fall from the sky after one election. Economic conditions are shaped over decades by where highways are built, where ports are expanded, where federal agencies channel investments, where industrial corridors are concentrated and which states receive consistent strategic attention from Putrajaya.

For years, PAS-led states have been expected to compete with one hand tied behind their backs.

Kelantan’s petroleum royalty dispute is the clearest example. Billions in potential revenue became trapped in endless technical and political disputes while development gaps widened. Water infrastructure issues accumulated over decades, yet every election season the same issue is weaponised as though it appeared overnight.

Ironically, even the federal government now indirectly admits the structural imbalance exists through increasing development allocations and major infrastructure commitments to Kelantan.

Because deep down, everyone knows the problem is larger than party politics.

Of course, PAS-led governments should still be criticised where necessary. Governance should always be scrutinised. Investment performance, youth opportunities, infrastructure delivery, and administrative efficiency must continuously improve.

But criticism must be honest.

It is dishonest to blame PAS for every social problem in its states while treating identical problems elsewhere as “complex national challenges”.

Drug abuse? Federal enforcement agencies control borders, narcotics policing and rehabilitation frameworks.

Orang Asli education? Federal ministries dominate the core education structure.

Child sexual crimes? A national crisis requiring serious protection systems, not cheap partisan exploitation.

Yet somehow, every social problem in PAS states becomes a political meme.

Even pornography statistics from Pornhub were dragged into the discussion as though online traffic from an adult website is now a recognised economic development index. That alone shows how desperate the argument has become.

Meanwhile, reality on the ground tells a different story.

Kedah remains part of Malaysia’s semiconductor and high technology ecosystem through Kulim Hi-Tech Park.

Terengganu continues attracting billions in realised investments.

Kelantan maintains a strong informal economy, cross-border commercial activity, and resilient family-based enterprise culture that simplistic income charts fail to fully capture.

This is precisely why many voters continue supporting PAS.

Not because they enjoy hardship.

Not because they are ignorant.

Not because they are blind.

But because they understand something many elite commentators refuse to admit: development in Malaysia is still heavily influenced by federal political power.

People know who controls the biggest revenue streams and mega projects, who decides industrial priorities, and who holds the purse strings for highways, schools, hospitals, and infrastructure.

And they also know opposition states are often treated differently.

A child in Kelantan is no less Malaysian than a child in Selangor.

A fisherman in Terengganu deserves the same dignity as a corporate executive in Kuala Lumpur.

A farmer in Kedah should not need political alignment with Putrajaya before his state receives fair treatment.

So yes, voters care about poverty.

But they also care about fairness.

They care about dignity.

They care about equal treatment.

And they are tired of being mocked by commentators who confuse selective statistics with truth.

Blaming PAS alone may be politically convenient. But convenient narratives are not necessarily true.

Ahmad Fadhli Shaari is PAS information chief and MP for Pasir Mas.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.