By Ravinder Singh
Proud as Malaysia is for having the world’s first shariah index to “gauge the effectiveness of policies”, no one in the administration has indicated that the conduct of elections in the country passes the shariah test.
Isn’t it strange that while we have syariah-compliant this and syariah-compliant that, from airlines to securities to EPF and sukuk, what should be the topmost of all shariah matters is nowhere near being being compliant?
If our general elections were shariah compliant, it would not be permissible for the goalkeeper to keep changing the goalposts so that a particular team keeps winning all the time. This is cheating, something that Islam and other religions frown upon.
A former chairman of the Election Commission, Abdul Rashid Abdul Rahman, has all but admitted that this sort of cheating occurs. Upon joining Perkasa in November 2013, he announced that while he headed the EC, he made sure Barisan Nasional would always win. Nobody, not even the Prime Minister, has disputed his statement. So it stands as the truth, the truth that the Islamic value of honesty was not followed.
The Federal Constitution states that the number of voters should be “approximately equal” for all constituencies and the EC says three is approximately equal to one. Such mathematics cannot be syariah compliant.
While we’re on the subject, would all the financial hanky-panky reported by the Auditor-General year in and year out also pass the test of syariah compliance?
Oh no, procurement officers could pass the syariah compliance test as hanky panky is the work of stupid people and stupidity is not an offence, as the previous head of the MACC once said.
When will our elections be made syariah compliant? If they already are, then could those responsible for the “scientific measurement system to gauge the effectiveness of policies based on the teachings of Islam” please explain to us how gerrymandering is justified in the teachings of Islam?
Ravinder Singh is an FMT reader.
With a firm belief in freedom of expression and without prejudice, FMT tries its best to share reliable content from third parties. Such articles are strictly the writer’s (or organisation’s) personal opinion. FMT does not necessarily endorse the views or opinions given by any third party content provider.