Anwar will likely face challenges from PAS which emerged as one of the big winners in the general election last Saturday, risking deeper divisions in the diverse, multi-faith country.

Anwar, who is ethnic Malay and Muslim, addressed race and religion in his first news conference as prime minister, promising to uphold Islam as the official religion of the country and the rights of the ethnic Malay majority, while also safeguarding the rights of all.

PAS, long a powerhouse in northeastern parts of Malaysia, has become a national force by winning the most seats of any party: 49 of the total of 222, nearly triple its tally in the last election in 2018 (five seats are won by candidates from its Bersatu ally who ran under its ticket).

Mazilamani : The truth is Umno/Barisan were blindsided by Pas, which has subtlety but planfully crept into the life of every Muslim, adults and children. The motive was to control, create and form a fully Islamic government within the next two GEs.

What I don't understand how did the Home Minister and Ministries under the Home Ministry miss this out, or did PAS have help from them to promote their agenda. This is where Anwar has to show concern in appointing the right people for Ministries, like Home Ministry, Education Ministry, Finance Ministry and Trade Ministry.

Reliable people who are his loyal and trustworthy must be appointed. Those saboteurs in the Ministries must be identified , removed or replaced. Ismail Sabri made the mistake of choosing Hamzah as Home Minister who was not from UMNO and was working closely with PAS and perhaps against UMNO interest.. Anwar cannot afford to repeat the same mistake.

Between now and the State Elections for some States, Anwar has a huge duty that he will "not sell out" the rights and religion of the Malays while at the same time protecting the religious and equal rights of Non Malays. Leaders of the Unity Government must give Anwar the support and assurance.

Any unintelligent infighting will be a sure laughing gain for the Opposition. I trust our Agong and Sultans want the same. Let us not go the Iranian way, where the shackling controls by the religious government have bursted and the people's frustration is now being showcased at the Qatar World Cup Championship. The whole world has come into knowledge of the political agony being suffered by the Iranian people.

Proarte : Anwar introduced the policy of "Islamisation" in the 1980s and 90s in the Civil Service which was disturbing and divisive not to mention against the secular spirit of our Constitution.

Amongst other things it put pressure on Malay women to wear the tudung creating a sense of uneasiness within the Muslim community and Islamic judgmentalism which has become a part of our political culture. All of this played into PAS hands and it gradually dictated the Islamic agenda causing UMNO and PAS to be in competition to out Islamise each other.

The rest is history leaving UMNO now from its dominant role in Malay politics to a minor one with PAS claiming the Islamic crown and having majority Malay support. Anwar has to take responsibility for having a not inconsequential role in this outcome.

For all Anwar's carefully crafted pious image and Malay "protector" against imagined threats, Anwar's support from the Malays was a humiliating 11%. Where did he go wrong? I believe it was his "All Things to All Men" political modus operandi which made people gradually lose faith in him.

Anwar's "Islamisation" frankly has been a dismal failure in Malaysia and corresponded with deteriorating levels of corruption leading to our current parlous state where good governance in Malaysia is at an all time low. Indonesia, the world's most populous country has made significant strides in improving its notoriously corrupt culture of governance.

Jokowi, President of Indonesia has adopted secularism as his model which is based on Pancasila the nation's governing principles. Now that Anwar is running a "Unity" government, he must not betray the trust of all the parties which finally supported him. As such, Anwar must learn to keep his Islamic faith personal and confined to the Mosque.

By openly playing the "Imam" he immediately becomes a rival to the PAS clerics and they then level pot shots at him and the political rhetoric enters their inane terrain and wastes precious time meant to be improving the lives of All Malaysians. Anwar should focus on our Malaysian identity at all times.

The current feeling promoted by our corrupt political system is that anything "Malaysian" is somehow at the expense of the Malays. Anwar should stop operating on a subtext of Malay and Islamic supremacy. This is foolhardy and exposes his hypocrisy and duplicity.

There is absolutely no need to talk about what is in the 60 year old Constitution in relation to 'reassuring' the Malays. The Constitution guarantees freedom of worship and equality before the law, therefore this this what must be highlighted at all times. As a supposed "Reformist". Anwar must not obsessively talk about Malay "privileges" as though it is cast in a tablet of stone.

Anwar knows it was meant to operate for a period of 15 years and then reviewed. The "privileges' which has gone on for over 60 years has clearly been a failure because the Malays are supposedly still behind. If there is any need to mention the Constitution, Anwar should talk about it in an inclusive way, not in a Malay supremacist way.

Anwar has been his own worst enemy politically. If Anwar leaves race and religion out of politics, it will introduce a new culture in our politics and bring us together as a "United" people which is what the Agong has decreed. It is only when each citizen professing whatever faith feels he or she has equal worth, that we can begin to heal and harness the great potential we have.

JazliSalleh : Muslims should be made aware of the dangers of Using Islam as a political tool against The true teachings of Islam. Using Islam as a political tool would lead to negative perception of Islam while Practice of the true teachings of Islam without elements of politics would lead Islam being respected and model for all mankind. This is what Muslims should strive for. There is already enough hatred in this world and we should not be adding on to it. Let's be a role model instead of a problem for the world.