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Baradan Kuppusamy

A leading Islamic fundamentalist, who gained fame as a faith healer on  television, will lead an opposition party's attempt to win the crucial state of Kedah in the next Malaysian election.

Harun Din, derided by the government as a quack, opened a rally for the Parti Islam se-Malaysia (PAS) yesterday with an attack on retiring Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

He accused the leader of using money and western entertainment to corrupt Muslim youth.

'Muslim youths have rejected Dr Mahathir's secularism ... They are returning to Islam in large numbers. We stand a better chance of winning Kedah without Dr Mahathir,' he said, describing government leaders as 'enemies of Islam'.

Dr Mahathir will step down as prime minister at the end of this month, and his successor, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, is expected to call a snap general election before May.

Political analysts who had dubbed Dr Harun an 'armchair politician' now say his moment of glory has arrived. Although PAS touts him as a champion, Dr Harun remains politically untested.

A close friend of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Harun, 61, held a public rally when Anwar was jailed by Dr Mahathir in 1998, attracting tens of thousands.

He later joined the opposition, but declined to accept any post or contest the 1999 general election.

The tussle between Dr Mahathir's moderate United Malays National Organisation and the fundamentalist PAS will be fierce  in Kedah, where Dr Harun has a large following.

PAS, which won 12 of the 36 assembly seats in the northern state  in the 1999 general election, hopes to exploit Dr Harun's popularity.

'Kedah is the real battleground in the next election,'  said political analyst Raja Petra Kamarruddin.

'If the government loses Kedah, it no longer can say it leads the Malays,' he said.

Mr Abdullah, a respected Islamic scholar, is popular among rural Malays. To date, he has attacked almost weekly the credibility of Dr Harun in his speeches - and will likely continue to do so as the race towards the elections heats up.



Malaysia's Islamists field faith healer in key northern state