A man holds up a Quran at a demonstration outside the U.S. embassy while Mahfuz
Omar, head of the PAS youth party, speaks
The skinny 25-year-old munching on a Big Mac in a Kuala Lumpur suburb doesn't realize it, but he represents salvation for Malaysia's Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Once a member of the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Kamaruddin defected to the opposition Islamic Party of Malaysia as a result of Mahathir's treatment of his charismatic deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, three years ago. Joining what appeared to be a rising tide of public sentiment, Kamaruddin and his friends attended numerous street demonstrations and political meetings in support of the Islamic Party, known by its Malay acronym PAS, and its...
