Zaid: If Teresa Kok is guilty of 3R incitement, so is Religious Minister Na’im who triggered it
Taking a swipe of VIPs (presumably minister and their entourage) who frequently visit foreign capitals, Zaid asked if they ever bring along “JAKIM officers to inspect the food before they dine at the Buckingham Palace or the White House?”
(Focus Malaysia) – FORMER de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has emerged the second Muslim personality to defend DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok who is now under police probe for fanning 3R sentiments (race, religion and royalty) with her objection of JAKIM mooting of a mandatory halal certification for alcohol/pork-free eateries.
After human rights activist and lawyer Siti Kasim took both Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain to task for faulting the six-term Seputeh MP, Zaid contended that Religious Minister Datuk Dr Na’im Mokhtar, too, deserved to be investigated for raising the so-called provocative matter first.
“The PM claimed that Teresa had made it difficult by not raising the matter internally but instead going public. Does that same rule apply to Naim?” wondered the opposition-slant UMNO member on the X platform.
“Don’t forget that JAKIM (Malaysian Islamic Development Department) is a body specially created to deal with Islamic affairs. But Islamic matters must not cross the line on non-Muslim affairs. That’s the fundamental tenet of our country.
“That’s why Muslim leaders should not be emotional when a non-Muslim leader raises a matter like halal food certification. That issue might have crossed the line. Have a discussion, a civil one.”
Zaid who had earlier ticked off DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook for only “meekly” supporting Kok – or literally “throwing her under the bus” – further insisted that “the country must always recognise that non-Muslims have rights, too”.
“These rights are not subordinate to others. It stands on its own and will be defended by non-Muslims when they can,” asserted the founder of Zaid Ibrahim & Co, the largest private law firm in Malaysia (which he no longer owns).