Terengganu to label opposition ‘mosques’

(Bernama) – The Terengganu government has been asked to gazette buildings used for Friday prayers by leaders of the opposition and their followers as mosques to reduce disunity among Muslims in the state because of political differences.

Hulu Besut assemblyman, Nawi Mohamad said till now, there were at least six such buildings including suraus that had been identified as being used by an opposition party to conduct Friday prayers because they did not want to use mosques built by the government.

“These buildings are in Kampung Awek and Kampung Pak Sik in Hulu Besut, Padang Landak in Jerteh, Kampung Tok Sabuh in Kuala Besut, Kampung Lahar in Kota Putera and Kampung Tok Dat Jabi,” he said here today.

According to Nawi, who is also deputy chairman of the state Welfare, Women and Community Development Committee, the religious department should handle the gazetting of the buildings after consultations with the parties concerned as the problem had dragged on for far too long.

He was commenting on the split among Malays in the Besut district because of political differences, which also had been discussed by the District Action Council before this.

This problem of having separate Friday prayers has been going since the 80s and only eased after PAS succeeded in coming into power in Terengganu in 1999.

However, when the party lost the next election to Barisan Nasional in 2004. its followers reverted to using their suraus and party buildings for the prayers.

Nawi said he hoped the matter would be given serious attention so that a starting point could be found to re-unite the people and avoid a worsening split among Muslims in the state.