Sudden ‘Sunni’ fixation likely a political ploy, Pak Samad says

(MM) – Putrajaya’s proposal to place a legal shackle on the spread of non-Sunni Islamic ideologies here has irked Malay literary icon Datuk A. Samad Said who believes the move is not for religious reasons but is politically motivated.

The white-bearded poet, a pious Muslim himself, said the government’s motives were suspect as the plan to redefine Islam as “Sunni” in the Federal Constitution had come so suddenly after years without any fuss over the issue.

“As far as I’m concerned, people are very unsure what is happening now exactly, why out of the blue, this thing has to be introduced, that’s the thing,” the 81-year-old national laureate told The Malay Mail Online when met yesterday.

“They do it also because they want to attack the Syiah as it has been proven… Mat Sabu has already been attacked before you have any evidence, and this is not nice.

“If you want to do something, do it not because of this, you do it because you believe it, not because of politics,” he continued.

Samad, more fondly known by his moniker “Pak Samad”, was referring to PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu who was over the weekend accused by an Umno minister of being a Syiah follower, an Islamic sect deemed deviant in Malaysia.

The poet-turned-political activist also told Umno that it was “too late” for the party to add “Sunni” to define Islam in its own internal constitution as it should have been done a long time ago.

“Why is it now? If you believe in something, it should be done earlier, this move is very political, that has been proven now,” he said.

Pak Samad did not elaborate on his suspicions but pointed to how Mat Sabu, a known PAS progressive with a large following, had been singled out as an alleged Shiite.

“The first attack is on Mat Sabu, and then it can go against others,” he warned.

On Saturday, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi issued an order on local religious authorities to take action against Mohamad Sabu for his alleged links to the Shiites.

Addressing a packed auditorium on the last day of Umno’s 67th General Assembly, Ahmad Zahid said his ministry would no longer tolerate any elements seen as a threat to national security.

“PAS, set aside political interest. This is about akidah (faith) and national security… I am surprised how their party elections installed a Syiah as the number two leader in PAS,” he said in his winding up speech, in a clear reference to Mohamad Sabu.

“We are done lying low. Jamil Khir, KDN gives you the power to take action against (that) PAS leader,” he said to thunderous applause from the over 2,000 delegates.

Ahmad Zahid was referring to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom, who is in charge of Islamic affairs.

In response, Mat Sabu denied the accusation, and claimed instead that he follows the accepted Sunni school of jurisprudence.

“I am a member of the Sunnah Wal Jamaah, a Muslim that follows the teachings of Sunnah Wal Jamaah members,” he told Astro Awani briefly in his journey to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) on Saturday.

On Friday, Ahmad Zahid had said a proposal to redefine Islam as “Sunni” in the Federal Constitution would be brought before the government for discussion in a bid to prevent the spread of other Islamic ideologies, including the Syiah sect, in Malaysia.

National newswire Bernama quoted the minister as saying that by inserting the words “Sunnah wal Jamaah” in the definition of Islam in the Federal Constitution, it would ensure that Muslims who follow other ideologies are prohibited from spreading their teachings.

It is widely accepted that “Sunnah wal Jamaah” is the de-facto ideology adopted by the majority of Muslims in Malaysia, though religious authorities have long grappled with pockets of different sects that have taken root across the country.

The home minister said the spread of the Syiah ideology is an “issue of faith and national security”, and has been determined by the National Fatwa Council in 1996 that it is a deviant movement that goes against the tenets of Sunnah wal Jamaah, the dominant Islamic ideology in Malaysia.