Leaders’ political will against extremism under scrutiny
Politicians and ‘little Napoleons’ in government have kept sowing discord even though Malaysians have respected and accepted one another, Sin Chew writer Chong Lip Teck says.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s hard-earned racial harmony and diversity could be compromised if its leaders continue to keep mum over acts of religious extremism or if ill-intentioned politicians continue sowing discord among the people, a political commentator warned in Sin Chew Daily today.
Chong Lip Teck, who writes for the Chinese daily, said the real issue behind the recent spate of extremist incidents was whether the country’s leaders have the political will and power of execution to deal with such cases.
He said the people will use it as a yardstick to gauge the competency of the relevant authorities.
He said the home ministry, police and the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim) took action on preacher Zamihan Mat Zin, who had allegedly insulted non-Muslims for lacking hygiene in defending a laundrette’s Muslim-only customer policy, only after the Conference of Rulers issued a statement expressing concern over the situation.
“Even though the government has repeatedly emphasised moderation, whenever a controversial racial or religious issue pops up, these people are slow in defending the cause of moderation as well as the country’s diversity,” he said.
“The issues of the beer festival and the Muslim-only launderette have sadly reflected the submission to conservatism by the authorities, be it the Barisan Nasional or Pakatan Harapan governments.
“This was particularly visible in the Muslim-only launderette issue, where the authorities came out with a remarkably toned-down response only after the Johor Sultan had spoken up,” he said in a commentary republished by The Straits Times.
Chong said moderation, tolerance and accommodation had been an integral part of the Malaysian people’s day-to-day interactions.
Irrespective of race and religion, they had been respecting and accepting one another while politicians and the “little Napoleons” in government departments kept sowing discord.
“In any democratic country, an ineffective government machinery does not augur well for the continued progress of society.
Last month, the Better Beer Festival scheduled on Oct 6 and 7 was disallowed by the authorities following opposition by PAS and Muslim hardliners. Subsequently, the Klang Municipal Council permitted the organisers of the Centro German F&B Party to hold their event on Oct 12 and 13, but disallowed them from using the word “Oktoberfest”.
Also, late last month, two laundrette operators, in Muar and Kangar, were criticised by various quarters after they were reported to have enforced the Muslim-only policy.
On Sept 27, the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, reprimanded the owner of the Muar laundrette, telling him to operate his business in Afghanistan if he wanted to continue with such a policy.
On Oct 10, the Conference of Rulers condemned the controversies including that of the Muslims-only laundrettes, saying such acts went “beyond all acceptable standards of decency”.
They said these actions risked the harmony within Malaysia’s multi-religious and multiracial society, and that the damaging implications of such acts became more severe when they were erroneously associated with or committed in the name of Islam.
On Oct 11, Zamihan, who is Persatuan Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah (Aswaja) president, was arrested and remanded for two days for investigations into a talk he gave at a mosque in Shah Alam on Oct 8 in which he apparently supported the laundrette operators.
It was reported that Jakim referred Zamihan to its disciplinary board following his alleged criticism of the Johor sultan during a religious talk.
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