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Saturday, June 25, 2016

Good to be aware what non-Muslims think of Islam in Malaysia...



COMMENT It is about time that someone articulates honestly the non-Muslims’ sentiments about Islam in Malaysia, especially in the light of a recent mind-boggling statement made by none other than the mufti of Pahang, Abdul Rahman Osman.
One will not easily forget as well how another mufti from Perak, Harussani Zakaria, had come out with very weird statements about having sex on camel’s back - something which even the secular civil society would consider as vulgar if not a ‘wild orgy’ by the sound of it!
Both are supposed to be the leaders in their own right within their state’s religious hierarchy, and people in their positions should be men of great honour and careful with their words.
Unfortunately, from the way they speak, it has not left us, non-Muslims in particular, a good taste of what Islam is supposed to be.
The big contrast
Non-Muslims know whom they can respect without being told to do so.
I would, for example, choose to respect the mufti of Perlis, Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, for what I always thought were fair comments coming from a learned man.
What now surprises me is that Dr Mohd Asri was not reappointed, but subsequently reinstated in 2015. Who wanted him out? Over what issue was he not reappointed?
It is more of people like Dr Mohd Asri whom we need in a multi-racial, multi-religious society like Malaysia.
Besides the age, the contrast between Dr Mohd Asri and the other two muftis will explain why non-Muslims have quite a negative perception towards Islam in this country.
It is time that the Muslim ummah in this country take a closer look at the way their leaders project the image of Islam in the country, and how, like Amanah’s Mujahid Yusof Rawa, they, too, can build bridges with the non-Muslims in the country.
At the end of the day, it is ‘respect begets respect’ which I thought people like the late Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat exemplifies.
While it may not matter to some about how the non-Muslims feel about the entire issue, Muslims cannot blame the non-Muslims for having a negative perception when someone like Abdul Rahman could call the DAP ‘kafir harbi’. In fact, non-Muslims would strongly condemn such a statement as unbefitting a respectable Islamic religious leader.
My questions to mufti Abdul Rahman
Since the middle of last year, our nation has been rocked by the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his associate, flamboyant Malaysian tycoon Low Taek Jho, have come under a lot of public pressure. Najib had in fact said that, if not for the Goods and Services Taxes (GST), the country would have gone bust.
I would therefore like to know whether Abdul Rahman would consider multimillionaire Jho Low a ‘kafir harbi’ especially since at least one of the investigators speaking to Reuters has successfully identified Low to be the exclusive beneficial owner of Good Star?
If Tony Pua of DAP is considered a ‘kafir harbi’ for exposing the 1MDB scandal, together with PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli, then it would only make sense if Jho Low is also a ‘kafir harbi’.
I would really like to know what have both the muftis have to say about the 1MDB mother of all scandals. Strangely, they have been totally silent - not even a squeak! Perhaps, it is time for the ummah to ask these muftis about the problem with corruption and abuse of power in this country.
For Abdul Rahman’s information, investigators have trailed two payments made in 2009 and 2011 by 1MDB to Good Star totalling US$1.03 billion (RM4.156 billion), which is part of a total of US$7 billion of 1MDB’s fund which has gone unaccounted for.
Bank Negara had also identified Low as the owner of Good Star and the company is unrelated to the 1MDB-Petrosaudi venture in 2009 and 2011. The company was registered in Seychelles on May 18, 2009, four months before the initial payment to PetroSaudi. It was dissolved five years later, on May 2, 2014.
By virtue of Article 117 of 1MDB’s Memorandum and Articles of Association (M&A), Najib as the prime minister is the only one who can authorise all major decisions of the company involving financial commitment (including investment) and restructuring.
So, under such circumstances, if ‘kafir harbi’ is targeted at non-Muslims, what would Abdul Rahman call a Muslim leader who has a hand in the country’s huge financial mess?
Why would Abdul Rahman remain totally silent over the scandal since news of it hit the world in July last year?
Again, why would Abdul Rahman not reprimand (not to mention strongly condemn) another political party, which is supposed to champion both race and religion, and safeguard the interest of the civil society, but instead get caught up with scandals and high levels of corruption?
In the news yesterday, we are also told that Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman’s case is currently still being investigated by the Swiss authority. What are the mufti’s reactions towards one of these scandals involving a Muslim?
Would hudud laws also include amputation of the hands for politicians who steal from public coffers or in some clear-cut corruption cases?
The Swiss Federal Court has ordered the UBS Bank to release records of its business ties with Musa to the country’s Attorney-General's Office (AGO). We can see at least justice being pursued in ‘kafir’ Switzerland, but not here in Malaysia. Are the two muftis not interested to see justice being upheld in this country?
In short, would Abdul Rahman or Harussani have anything to say about the biggest issue plaguing this nation, namely corruption?
It makes me wonder now whether the two muftis would prefer to believe that corruption does not exist in Malaysia, or would they rather take the bull by the horns and tackle it collectively as leaders of the ummah?
No reaction?
It tickles me when Najib calls himself a “democrat” and a moderate Muslim, but if he truly holds to this position, he would have done whatever he can, not only to remove Abdul Rahman for his ‘kafir harbi’ statement, but to charge him over making such an inflammatory statement.
No one is ‘kafir harbi’ unless he has taken up arms and fought against Islam, and in the case of DAP, neither has secretary-general Lim Guan Eng nor any of his DAP members, taken up arms to fight against any Muslim in this country.
Instead, when the DAP took over the Penang state government, Lim had given even higher allocations for Islamic groups. A so-called ‘kafir harbi’ giving more state allocations to the Muslim community in Penang is indeed interesting, is it not?
No leader in the right mind within a democratic setting would allow a mufti, the highest official in the state religious order, to make such explosive political comments. It truly deserves to be condemned by both political and civil society leaders.

I would be surprised if Umno would rise up to the occasion now to put a stop to such an uncalled for statement made by a religious figure. Instead, if they do not complicate the issues further, I would be grateful.
At the bottom of it all, this reflects the level of understanding of Islam by Malaysian Muslims which, in my opinion, may need some proper realignment with the rest of the Muslim world.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. - Mkini

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