JULY, July 23 -- Malaysians have every right to support PAS.

That right must be defended as firmly as the right of other Malaysians to support UMNO, PKR, DAP, Amanah, Bersatu, GPS, GRS or any other legally constituted political party. Democracy does not require citizens to agree with one another. It requires them to respect one another's right to choose.

But democratic support cannot be separated from democratic accountability.

The real question, therefore, is not whether Malaysians are entitled to root for PAS. They clearly are. The more important question is this: what has a PAS led by Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang actually accomplished for Malaysia?

This question should not be dismissed as hostility towards Islam, the Malays or conserva...