Muftis should stay out of politics
Muftis or religious leaders in this country have an unfortunate knack of putting their foot in their mouths.
Jeswan Kaur, Berita Daily
Be it the callous Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria or the Perak deputy mufti who took it upon himself to ‘Islamise’ Malaysia, they have all been guilty of the most unpardonable of act – of creating divisiveness among the people.
Instead of staying true to their responsibility of assisting and advising the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on matters related to Islamic affairs, some of the nation’s mufti have decided to stray away from their true cause and turned to politicking.
Harussani for example was quoted by Malay daily Sinar Harian last year as saying that Prime Minister Najib Razak had once confided in him that it was the latter’s fear of losing elections that prompted him to accommodate the wishes of the non-Malays.
Harussani apparently had at one point in time engaged in a conversation with Najib on the issue of Malaysia’s race relations.
Harussani was quoted as saying: “I asked Najib, ‘Why should we still try to win over the Chinese and Indians if they no longer want to cooperate with us?’
Najib’s reply was “‘We’re afraid of losing.’”
Commenting on Najib’s response, Harussani later on told reporters: “Even now we’re losing. Why then should we be appointing ministers who are Chinese? There’s no need for Chinese ministers. Just let the Malays rule. We’ll show them.”
Did the Perak mufti’s brazen thoughts go on to set a precedence of sorts, setting the platform for other religious leaders to do the same – taking the liberty to dabble in politics despite it not being part and parcel of their work assignment?
