If only we had more leaders like Ku Li, Zaid
The Kelantan prince and the former law minister are getting the issues right, and it’s about time everyone else stepped up.
Shahril Ahmad, Free Malaysia Today
Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, the Prime Minister we never had, may be in the twilight of his career as an elected representative, but the Kelantan prince will be remembered as the ideal Malaysian politician long after he’s called it a day. Fondly known as Ku Li, many observers have noted with regret that it was always unlikely that he would ever clinch the title of Prime Minister, given his refusal to participate in the politics of patronage that is the norm in Malaysia.
Ku Li has made waves again with his call for the growth of the religious bureaucracy to be curbed, questioning the roles of Jakim and the de-facto Minister of Religious Affairs in particular. The growing encroachment of religious bureaucrats into the daily life of Muslims all over the country has been a bugbear for the Malay community for a while now, bubbling under the surface of larger societal problems, and we are just beginning to have a conversation on whether or not we actually need bodies like Jakim.
His call followed criticism of the government’s allocation of a RM1 billion budget to Jakim, which former law minister Zaid Ibrahim said was a “sheer waste” of limited resources. Speaking of Zaid, now there’s another name we should be mentioning more often. In fact, it seems like out of all our Malay public figures, it is Zaid and Ku Li who have consistently upheld a moderate and sensible approach towards all issues of a religious nature.
Maybe it has to do with their Kelantan origin. It seems ironic, given the conservative bent of the state, but one must note that integration and harmony have never been an issue in Kelantan. The locals themselves have come to a synergistic solution to the religious dilemma and, by and large, it seems to be working thus far despite any reservations one may have about PAS holding the reins of the state government.
It is figures like Ku Li and Zaid who are elevating the quality of debate surrounding the pressing issues. Where our esteemed leaders are happy to shout and insult each other like schoolchildren, Ku Li and Zaid are actually dissecting and analysing the root of the problems at hand, and doing so with authority and strong logic. In truth, it is by debating and thoroughly discussing the issues that we can arrive at any sensible solution.
