Hizbul Muslimin, The First Islamic Party in Malaya
Hizbul Muslimin, The First Islamic Party in Malaya
Hizbul Muslimin (Hamim), or better known as the Muslim People's Party of Malaya, was actually the first Islamic party to establish a foothold in Malaya since it was founded on the historic date of March 14, 1948.
Like other parties in Malaya at that time, Hizbul Muslimin also fought for independence and desired a nation free from British colonial rule. So, what is the connection between this party and the state of Perak that it is being written about in this orangperak.com article? Continue reading to find out.
For your information, loyal readers of orangperak.com, from March 13 to 16, 1946, the first Pan-Malayan Islamic Conference was held at Madrasah Ma'ahad al-Ehya as-Sharif, located in Gunung Semanggol, Perak.
The assembly was sponsored by the Malay Nationalist Party (PKMM) under the leadership of Dr. Burhanuddin al-Helmy and was organized to discuss economic problems faced by the Malay-Muslim community.
Furthermore, the assembly also aimed to bring together more politically active and progressive Islamic movements and thinkers in the country to sit and discuss. The result, as we can see, was the eventual establishment of the Supreme Islamic Council of Malaya (MATA).
Everything began in Gunung Semanggol, Perak. The Supreme Islamic Council of Malaya (MATA) began organizing assemblies and political activities for Malay-Muslim activists to gather and discuss future plans and the need to mobilize the general public.
It is worth noting that the council also organized a conference from March 13, 1948, to March 16, 1948, to discuss local and international issues concerning the general public. Conference participants felt that the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) was not doing enough to address important issues generally, and that conservative-nationalist factions were not playing a sufficient role for the interests of the Malay-Muslims.
UMNO representatives within MATA were dissatisfied with the tone of the Islamist discussions, which they felt were too revolutionary and militant. The UMNO representatives reported their opinions and observations to their leadership, causing the UMNO leader at the time, Dato Onn Jaafar, to begin issuing warnings about the "danger from the mountain," referring to Gunung Semanggol as the location of the Supreme Islamic Council of Malaya (MATA) movement.
Ustaz Abu Bakar al-Baqir
Subsequently, the Muslim People's Party of Malaya or Hizbul Muslimin was founded on March 14, 1948, led at the time by Ustaz Abu Bakar al-Baqir, following the second conference of the Supreme Islamic Council of Malaya (MATA), which declared that MATA should be reorganized as an Islamic political party.
With the establishment of Hizbul Muslimin, all political activities were transferred to the new political organization. The Supreme Islamic Council of Malaya (MATA) then served as the party's religious affairs bureau. However, this first Islamic political party in Malaya was destined not to last long, as it was banned by the British government on the grounds that Hizbul Muslimin had ties to the Malayan Communist Party (PKM).
Many members of Hizbul Muslimin managed to escape the British crackdown by rejoining UMNO, while others split off and formed the Pan-Malayan Islamic Association, abbreviated as PAS.
For the purpose of contesting in the 1955 Federal Legislative Council Election, the association was re-registered under the new name Pan-Malayan Islamic Party (PMIP). The name was changed again to the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) during the era of president Asri Muda in the 1970s.
