Zulkifli: Loyalty oath by Pas is ridiculous
By Suganthi Suparmaniam, NST
Pas’ influential Majlis Syura Ulama, Dewan Ulama and Dewan Muslimat have been urged to come out and make a clear stand on the “oath of loyalty” issue.
Kulim Bandar Baru member of parliament Zulkifli Noordin of Parti Keadilan Rakyat said the National Fatwa Council should also meet to discuss whether such an oath is allowed, its impact, whether a person can be tied down to it and other pertinent questions.
Zulkifli, in his blog zul4 kulim.blogspot.com, urged Pas to do away with such an oath, fearing that it may end up turning away women voters.
Saying it was the most ridiculous policy he had ever heard, he said it was unfortunate for a movement that placed Islam at its core to have such an oath as its policy.
He said such a thing dragged women to the Dark Ages when women were often held as collateral, traded or pawned.
“Divorce is the most hated thing in Islam, yet it was used as the basis of the oath,” he wrote, adding that he only believed it to be true after checking with other friends.
“In fact, some of them told me how they themselves were shivering when they took the oath.
“Even more saddening was that some of the wives, who were required to attend the ceremony, were weeping and shivering, listening to their husbands holding their marriages at ransom for political reasons.”
Zulkifli said the Prophet himself had requested his friends to take oaths, but argued why wives and marriages were held at ransom.
He also questioned the impact on their children who would be the victims.
He said the real issue here was why the sanctity of marriage was made collateral in this oath, not whether or not a candidate would jump parties.
“Are we so engrossed in politics that we are willing to risk the sanctity of marriage as political collateral?
“Initially, I didn’t want to write about it but I was surprised when other leaders who did not even feel the least guilty about it came out to defend it with ridiculous reasoning,” he wrote, adding that he was distancing himself from the policy.
“And why not in other forms? For example, if one jumps party after winning an election, the person will be doomed forever by God,” he wrote, adding that he was worried that the issue could cause those supporting Pas to switch alliances.
“How are the people going to place their hopes and trust in us to lead and rule the country if we are willing to pawn our wives and marriages for political reasons?
“What if we take over the Federal Government? Will the civil servants then be forced to take such an oath if they are not loyal to the government?”
He also demanded to know whether the party leadership agreed and had given its blessings for this oath taking.
On Thursday, Pas Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad said Pas elected representatives were required to take the “oath of loyalty”, which required them to divorce their wives if they decided to leave or jump to another party.
On Saturday, Pas president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang expressed surprise over the “oath of loyalty” and said no such directive was issued. He promised to investigate the matter.
