Split in PAS? So what, religious people have been quarrelling for 4,000 years

Intellectual arrogance runs deep in those who believe they are learned and have knowledge. So they look down on others and become very quarrelsome. Hence religious people, even some of those in PAS, will fight and quarrel and look down on others. So leave them be and let them drown in their own mirage of self-importance.

NO HOLDS BARRED

Raja Petra Kamarudin

I have noticed there are various articles and news items regarding the ‘split’ in PAS. Maybe it’s true or maybe it’s in the minds of those who are reporting about this internal conflict in PAS.

First of all, PAS is a political party, and politicians quarrel all the time. My neighbour in my kampung in Kuala Terengganu divorced his wife because of politics. The husband was Umno, and the wife was PAS. So they divorced while on the way to the polling station because the wife defied the husband and insisted on voting for PAS.

My servant’s husband chased their son out of the house because the son pointed at the Umno badge on his father’s chest and said, “Lambang kafir!” The father chased him out of the house and ‘tak mengaku anak’.

In one election, my wife Marina disagree with me about who to vote for. The two choices were Wan Mutallib Embong of PAS and Haji Talib of Umno. She voted ‘bebas’, the candidate with the bus symbol. The ‘bebas’ candidate won four votes (must be his own family did not vote for him) and I have never stopped reminding Marina about her candidate who won only four votes.

Some say PAS is an Islamic party so they should not be quarrelling with each other like, say, Umno, Bersatu, PKR, DAP, etc.

PAS itself was created because the religious people in Umno could not agree whether Malaysia is a secular state or a theological state.

In fact, Judaism is estimated to be 4,000 years old, and the Jews have been quarrelling since Judaism was invented.

Then came Christianity 2,000 years ago, which itself is a breakaway of Judaism, and they have been quarrelling with each other ever since.

Then came Islam and the Muslims have been at each other’s throats since the day Prophet Muhammad died.

The bottom line is, so long as there are political parties and religions, people are going to quarrel. And the more religious they are, the more quarrelsome they become. This is because religious people, never mind from which religion, think they are cleverer than everyone else and everyone else is jahil or ignorant.

Intellectual arrogance runs deep in those who believe they are learned and have knowledge. So they look down on others and become very quarrelsome. Hence religious people, even some of those in PAS, will fight and quarrel and look down on others. So leave them be and let them drown in their own mirage of self-importance.