Khalid champions DAP against ‘anti-Islam’ slur
The Shah Alam MP says the Pahang Religious Department should apologise to the party
(Free Malaysia Today) – Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad has dismissed those who criticise DAP in the name of Islam as tools of political powers.
In an interview with FMT, he defended DAP against charges that it is anti-Islam, and he didn’t spare the state religious departments in his criticism.
He said some of the departments were often silent when Umno leaders issued statements that were obviously wrong in Islam, giving the impression that they were nothing more than mouthpieces for the ruling party.
As an example, he pointed to the lack of reaction from the religious departments when Mara Chairman Annuar Musa recently described himself as an “Islamic racist.” He said the utterance was obviously a contradiction in terms. “So why aren’t the Islamic authorities coming out with a statement to reprimand Annuar and correct that statement?”
Khalid, who is a member of Parti Amanah Negara’s central committee, commented on the current dispute between DAP and the Pahang Religious Affairs Department over a sermon that the state mufti delivered on Hari Raya Haji, in which he allegedly condemned DAP as a “clear and open enemy of Islam.”
“The statement was extremely politically biased,” he said. “So I would agree to the Pahang Islamic Department retracting it and apologising for having become partisan.”
He said a retraction was necessary if the Pahang religious authority wanted to regain respect.
Khalid said it was unfair of the religious departments to single out DAP when talking about opponents to the introduction of hudud punishments.
“DAP has never been in the government, and yet hudud is not implemented,” he said. “So surely somebody else is opposing it.”
