Does PAS really know what is best for Malaysia?
PAS wants to meet with the 25 eminent Malays but does PAS understand how Islam can co-exist in a multi-religious nation like Malaysia?
TK Chua, Free Malaysia Today
The open letter by 25 eminent Malays has elicited many responses from political parties and individuals.
PAS has come up with a series of responses, ranging from Islam being misunderstood to how and why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) must be adapted by religion, ethics and local culture to ensure no corrosion of religious tenets which may invite moral decay within a society.
I however can’t help but feel that all this is baloney.
Before the open letter, did PAS say anything about the abuse of religion by certain quarters to incite and provoke ill-will and discontentment? I must say the incitement has gone on for months and years now, but nothing much was done by PAS to stop it.
On the contrary, the records show that PAS has become even more narrow-minded and obsessed with its hudud laws and other forms of bigotries which has rattled to whole country.
Now PAS want to engage with the eminent 25 but according to its information chief, the dialogue must be based on “Islamic principles” and the “rejuvenated role and practice of the Islamic religious bodies” in the country.
This is really something. Does PAS have clear and acceptable Islamic principles? Does PAS have a clear notion of what constitutes the rejuvenated role and practice of the Islamic religious bodies? To quell misunderstanding about Islam, does PAS have a clear understanding of what Islam should be in order to be in a multi-racial and multi-religious society like Malaysia?
Then I look at the statement by PAS’ Kuala Nerus MP Khairuddin Aman Razali. According to him, Islam backs the protection of human rights but it “must be interpreted in the context of religious teachings and local cultures”. Human rights issues must be “seen alongside religion, ethics and culture, and must be in line with Islamic teachings and the federal constitution”.
