The pondok and Kelantan politics: a study of the political role of the pondok in Kelantan

Abstract

Generally, the number of pondoks (traditional Islamic boarding schools) has been decreasing because of the modern education system today. However, although the number of pondoks is decreasing throughout Malaysia, there are still many pondoks in Kelantan. At the same time Kelantan is one of the most unique states in Malaysia in terms of politics. Kelantan is a Malay dominant state (around 95 % are Malays) and it is the state that PAS (Islamic Party of Malaysia) has been ruling since 1990 and has been returned to power again in 2008. It is difficult to understand the uniqueness of Kelantan from the political point of view. We should see more at grassroots level to find that political uniqueness. There is a unique correlation between religious education and politics. The main aim of this research is analyzing the Kelantan politics from the aspect of grassroots level like Pondoks.