Kuala Lampur, July 18 -- Politics often turns as much on perception as on numbers. Few politicians in Malaysia understand this better than PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang.

Over the years, Hadi has consistently projected confidence that PAS represents not merely another political party but the principal vehicle for Malay-Muslim political aspirations.

It is from this conviction that his repeated calls for "Malay-Muslim unity" should be understood.

Yet the very persistence of this slogan also raises an important question.

Why is there a constant insistence that Malay-Muslim unity remains elusive when Malaysia's constitutional order, public institutions and civil service have, since independence, been overwhelmingly shaped and staf...