The win by PAS in Kemaman was largely expected. Even though it was expected, still PAS had to put in a heavyweight who is a sitting Chief Minister and a professional.

Even though the win was truly convincing, it was far from morally gotten.

During the time of the election, PAS was marred by two incidents. The first is Sanusi degrading a religion of one people in Malaysia when he joked about tokong perut buncit kepala botak. Not only that, he degraded a minister by comparing the man to the deity of one particular race of people.

On another occasion, Muhyiddin, in his campaign trail made the absurd allegation that Umno members who hijrah or migrated out of that party will get the same divine rewards as that of the Prophet Muhammad when he migrated to Medina from Mecca.

The fact was that the hijrah of the Prophet was a dangerous affair that may affect the lives, economy and security of the first Muslims and therefore is no way in any comparison to filling in a Bersatu form or a PAS borang.

Be that as it may, PAS won a sweeping victory from the 96% Malay electorate, of whom only 65% came out to cast their votes.

Now, through all this, my article would like to give praise to Mat Hasan who said Umno must hold tight to the line of moderation.

For me, PAS only won a battle but lost the war of the spirit of Islam and the essence of Malaysia.

In politics, the easiest way to win is to make one race angry at another, to make one faith enemies of the others, and to make one socioeconomic class as the cause of poverty or distress to a larger and lower-income group of the people.

This is how unprincipled and immoral democracy works. Opportunist politician love to scare half-witted voters who listen to TikTok and YouTube only for their knowledge consumption.

But to stay true to the moderation that is demanded by spiritual teachings and nation-building, that is hard to do, especially in a constituency of one majority race and religion.

For me, Mat Hasan has the making of a new Umno that has realised their mistake in the past for fanning and harping on identity politics of race.

Now, the party is seeing its modus operandi efficiently being used by another party while one other added religion to that flammable pieces of rhetoric.

We Malaysians must acknowledge and recognise that Umno is still in its reform mode, and changing tactics and ideology in midstream will never win hardcore votes from the race that they once spooked with ghosts of Chinese people, dragons of DAP and the dangers of Christianity.

Umno has nowhere to go but to reform itself and rediscover its once lost dignity.

Umno can win many elections if it joins Bersatu and PAS and forever split this country into Malays and others.

This formula will ensure its victory in the peninsula but will guarantee the separation of Sarawak and Sabah from Malaysia once and for all.

Sabah and Sarawak have clearly made its intention known that an all-Malay peninsula is an all only Malaysia minus Sabah and Sarawak.

Mat Hasan has called for the politics of moderation. Islamic wise, this is the call by Anwar and the Islamic Reform movement in the 80s.

The life of the Prophet was an epitome of inclusiveness, acceptance and compassion for all. There is no place in Islam for people who pollute Islam or degrade others just because they are in power.

Mat Hasan has also sounded off the basic tenets of this nation in the Rukunegara that pledges a liberal and inclusive society with kesopanan and kesusilaan; two words that Sanusi perhaps could hardly pronounce, spell or understand.

I have asked Malaysians that Umno must be given a chance to reform.

MCA seems to “NOT want Umno to reform as it wishes to have the shortcut way of extremist politics of PN. We see MCA politicians attacking Anwar and Umno leaders and I just wish that these useless Malaysians join up with Gerakan and leave the Unity Government post haste.

MCA is fast becoming the garbage of decency and multiculturalism in Malaysia. The party is fit only to become “servants” of the extremists group in a power play to retake Malaysia.

If Zahid were incapacitated, I was always fearful of Mat Hasan as I do not know where his loyalty lies.

But time and again he has shown a moderate side and this can give assurance that Umno could be on the important road of reform and be accepted by the majority of Malaysians once more.

Umno is on a dangerous threshold to win and lose itself to the easy road of right-wing politics, or traverse the less beaten path of moderation that is always uphill and filled with difficulty.

The prize of such a difficult quest has for it a reward of Islamic spirituality and a nation’s gratitude.

(Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at a local university and his writing reflects his own personal opinion entirely.)