Lim Kit Siang appears to have lost it

Raja Sara Petra

Lim Kit Siang has challenged Najib Tun Razak to a debate regarding his Islam and kleptocracy remark. Most Malays resent someone of Kit Siang’s calibre talking about Islam. Kit Siang first needs to prove he not only has the credentials and qualifications to talk about Islam but that he is also a practicing Muslim, meaning he is a believer, before he challenges anyone to a debate on Islam.

A person who does not believe in Allah, Prophet Muhammad PBUH, the Qur’an, the Sunnah and the Hadith are categorised as unbelievers. In the Qur’an, the word used for unbelievers is kafir. If Kit Siang wants to give an opinion on Islam then he must first declare he is a believer. Only then will whatever opinion he wishes to give on Islam be accepted.

Kit Siang keeps repeating every day that Najib is a kleptocrat. This in itself goes against Islam. In Islam, any allegation against another person needs to be backed by evidence, either tangible evidence or witnesses to the crime. If the accuser cannot offer any proof or witnesses then that is called fitnah. And in cases of fitnah the accuser and not the accused must be punished instead. Islam is very clear about this.

If Malaysia practiced the Islamic law of Hudud then Kit Siang would have to face the court and prove his allegation against Najib or else suffer punishment. In Islam, fitnah is considered worse than murder (Qur’an 2:191). So what Kit Siang is saying about Najib is very serious indeed and violates the tenets of Islam. (As the Bible says, “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.”)

Before Kit Siang challenges Najib to a debate, he first needs to show the evidence that Najib is a kleptocrat. This is the first thing required by Islam. Once Kit Siang does this only then can he take it to the next level of challenging Najib to a debate on Islam and kleptocracy. But this can only be done once Kit Siang proves he is a believer and is not an unbeliever.