Jakim warns Muslims against voting for anti Islamist MCA and MIC selling out to ‘others’

 A PAS-linked blogger did not mince his words when he labelled a veteran party leader as an Umno agent within Pakatan Rakyat.

According to the blogger, who uses the monicker Tulang Besi, it is an open secret that Selangor exco for religious affairs Hasan Ali works for the other side.

In a posting on his blog Malaysia Waves, Tulang Besi commented on an article in the Umno mouthpiece Utusan Malaysia which praised the PAS leader.

Among others, the daily described Hasan as a fighter, who is not afraid of losing his position in order to safeguard Islam and Malay unity.

“Since Umno’s defeat in several states (in the last general election), when has Utusan praised any Pakatan leader?” asked Tulang Besi.

“The praise heaped by Utusan (on Hasan) is akin to the devil commending someone for his religious devotion,” he added.

‘Hypocrite of the highest order’

Continuing his attack on Hasan, the blogger pointed out that it is the PAS leader who lobbied the party president to join hands with Umno.

“Hasan also spreads Umno’s cheap propaganda amongst PAS members. He is a ‘munafik’ (hypocrite) of the highest order and may Allah punish him for this,” he said.

Tulang Besi also accused Hasan of attempting to sabotage Pakatan on numerous ocassions and that his people were involved in the conspiracy to engineer the downfall of Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim.

“Hypocrites like Hasan should be expelled from PAS, but PAS is too soft… and there are also those in PAS who defend Hasan,” he said.

The blogger also claimed that the ‘Dato’ title which is soon to be conferred on Hasan by the Sultan of Selangor is a result of the lobbying done by several palace officials linked to Umno.

“It has nothing to do with his performance or record. What has Hasan done for the people of Selangor? He is not efficient, bankrupt of ideas, incompetent and ignorant about religion. During exco meetings, he is more keen on entertaining the SMS he receives as opposed to talking,” he said.

This shows the Muslim communities’ stronger spirit of political participation and increased confidence in the democratic process. However, this should not be construed as Muslims’ victory over non-Muslims. Rather this, should be viewed as, and in fact, is merely an indication that Muslims have not been satisfied with the policies of the mainstream political parties.

This development of Muslim dominated parties and Muslim religious organization  that there needs to be a thorough change in their mode of functioning, especially, policies of nominating candidates for election. 

The government’s official sermon delivered today suggested that the position of Islam and the royal institution was being questioned because Muslims were selling out the religion to “certain quarters” which it did not name.

The sermon appeared to suggest that Muslims who associate with non-Muslims or stand up for non-Muslim causes were betraying their faith, and echoed a few racially divisive views espoused at the recent Umno general assembly.

It was delivered at all mosques today and was prepared by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim).

A copy of today’s sermon — sighted by The Malaysian Insider — appeared to hit out at Muslims who “conspire with certain groups in questioning Islam as the official religion in this country on the excuse of defending the fundamental rights of others” for personal gain.

It described those Muslims as “deviating from the teachings” of Prophet Muhammad, as well as “committing a big sin, oppressing Muslims and threatening national harmony” in the sermon that was to mark the end of Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin’s five year reign as Yang Di-Pertuan Agong.

“Remember, if Muslims lose their integrity, their pride and are manipulated by others, in the end, Islam in this country will suffer the same fate that has befallen other nations where their people were insulted and driven from the country of their birth,” it said.

The sermon did not directly refer to any one person in particular but appears to echo the political rhetoric heard at the Umno general assembly last week.

According to the Jakim sermon, purported attempts to convert Muslims also fall foul of Islam’s exclusive rights under the country’s Constitution.

It urged all Muslims to unite and uphold the constitutional monarchy system, reminding them that without a ruler, the administration of religion would be chaotic and would cause animosity.

“Avoid involvement in any action that could potentially threaten or pollute the royal institution and disputes what is contained in the Constitution, including that which pertains to Islam as the country’s religion,” it added.

Eligible Muslim candidates need and deserve an equitable share in the election otherwise things may go against the parties’ interests, and ultimately against everyone’s interests. 

The fact that given a chance, Muslim candidates can do well in the election has been proven by the PKR This is an example which other mainstream parties can emulate.

So far, the Muslim community led political parties have refrained from partisanship by inducting non-Muslim members and giving them key positions both in the party as well as while giving nominations. Such a balanced policy is a must for any political party in MALAYSIA, not only for the sake of political correctness, but also for its own survival.

Irrespective of who launches a party, the future course of action of a political party must display the spirit of democracy and utmost secularism; otherwise these new parties will also become the victims of communalism and sectarianism from which the older parties have already been suffering.

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DAP appears to be gaining ground in seemingly uncharted territory: the Malays.

Despite having been around since the mid-60s, the party has been perceived as a predominantly Chinese-based party, causing many Malays to shy away from it.

This perception, however, according to DAP members, is changing, albeit slowly but surely.

Party member Zairil Khir Johari said that the DAP was only recently able to tap into the Malay grassroots after the 2008 general election.

“Before 2008, the Malay support for DAP was almost non-existent,” he said, adding that the alternative political choice was usually the Islamic-based PAS.

“If you joined the opposition, if you had problems with the government, the natural appeal would be PAS. They have (access to) the suraus and the mosques, which DAP does not have.

“Umno would have its ketua kampung (village chief), while PAS has the religious (advantage), but if the DAP wanted to open a branch in a village, it would be so artificial,” said Zairil, who is also DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng’s political secretary.

DAP’s lack of a large Malay support base for the past 40 years, Zairil claimed, was partially because it was an “urban-based” party; it was more attractive to the city-living Chinese.

The government’s control of the mainstream media did not help the party either.

Malay branches in Penang

According to Zairil, the Umno-linked Malay-based media groups such as Utusan Malaysia blacks out anything DAP-related, unless it was negative.

These factors, according to Zairil, made sure that even urban Malays were kept unaware of the DAP’s handiwork.

However, the party’s entry into the Pakatan Rakyat coalition, coupled with access to the alternative media, appears to have helped its position, Zairil claimed.

He said that the party has been able to open a few Malay branches in Penang, with forays into Perlis as well.

Though acknowledging that its Pakatan allies – PKR and PAS – were there to attract Malay voters, DAP president Karpal Singh said that the party needed to make its own effort in reaching out to the Malays.

“PKR and PAS are there, but we shouldn’t rely on them. We have to go ahead with our own Malay support. Recently, there have been some Malays who have joined us.”

“They’re not shying away from the DAP… but they’re not coming in at the extent that we’d want,” he said.

Karpal said that the DAP had seen some Malay representation over the years, such as through former Bayan Baru MP Ahmad Nor and current Senator Tunku Abdul Aziz Ibrahim.

Even so, he said these efforts into the Malay heartland were not enough.

Muslims are more religious than people of other faiths, according to an international survey.

The research in 24 countries by British research company Ipsos-MORI shows that Muslims are more inclined than other believers to say their religion is the only true one, more inclined to say religion is an important part of their lives and more inclined to say it motivates them to good works, the survey shows.

The survey came to my attention via CNN, who did a long and interesting report, seeking to explain why this might be the case.

Ipsos-MORI surveys the same 24 countries on different questions every month. The poll on religion found that 61 per cent in Muslim-majority countries say their faith is the only true path to salvation or paradise, compared with 19 per cent in Christian-majority countries, while 61 per cent of Muslims say their religion motivates them to give time and money to people in need, compared with 24 per cent in Christian countries. But, across the survey, more than half said religion made no difference because they saw giving time or money to those in need as important in any case.

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Ipsos MORI chief Ben Page says on the website: “The survey is a good reminder to many in (the West) of how much religion matters – and is a force for good – in much of the world. Our analysis shows people would rather keep politics separate from religion, but that in a globalising world, it still matters more than many in old Europe think.”

More than 90 per cent of Muslims say their faith is important, 86 per cent of Hindus and 66 per cent of Christians. While the West mostly takes the desirability of separating church and state for granted — for good historical reasons — the Muslim world generally does not, though it also has had its share of sectarian strife.

The CNN report suggests conflict, theology and history combine to make Muslims more attached to their religion. Many Muslims define themselves in contrast to the West, which they see as in moral decline, and since 9/11 they tend to see the West as at war with Islam, in a deep ideological conflict.

Second, Islam had no Reformation or Enlightenment, and has not had the same drive to a secular society, leaving religion more strongly entrenched in social structures.

Muslims also believe themselves to the final, ultimate religion, the last word after the earlier chapters of the older monotheistic religions. They take varying approaches to Christians and Jews, the ‘‘people of the book’’, ranging from openness to violent opposition, partly because the Koran itself expresses various attitudes. They are much less open to other religions, and especially those that came later, such as the Baha’is, who are even more viciously persecuted in places like Iran than Christians or Jews.

Third, the CNN report says, Muslims do not see Muhammad as simply an historical figure, but as a personal inspiration and model to be followed. To which I add that Islam is a highly disciplined religion whose practices strongly shape a Muslim's day (eg praying five times a day), keeping the faith in the forefront of the mind.

Fourth, most Muslim-majority countries do not separate religion and politics, as Western countries do. Turkey and Indonesia have secular Constitutions, but Turkey is governed by an Islamic party, and Indonesia’s political culture is steeped in Islam. (Ipsos-MORI surveys Turkey, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia as its Muslim-majority countries.)

Washington political scientist Farid Senzai tells CNN that the West must take the Muslim world on its own terms. ‘‘Many Muslims want religion to play a role in politics. To assume that everyone around the world wants liberal secular democracy is an absurd idea.’’

Devotion or confidence about religion is, of course, not synonymous with extremism, let alone terrorism. But the Arab Spring may prove very bad news for Christians and other minorities in the Middle East, for women, and even for Muslim men deemed insufficiently devout, if disturbing early signs are confirmed.

NB: The survey acknowledges methodological limitations. It is opt-in — 18,473 adults did the survey in the 24 countries — and nearly half identified as Christian, a quarter as not religious, 11 per cent as Muslim, 4 per cent as Buddhist and 3 per cent as Hindu.

Former Filipino President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, under arrest on charges of rigging the 2007 election, is being transferred by court order from to a private hopsital to a military facility where she will await a court decision on her case.

The convoy carrying Arroyo moved under tight security on Friday in heavy rain and road traffic from the medical facility in Manila where she was arrested last month while being treated for a bone ailment.

Last month, a Philippines court ruled that Arroyo could stay at the hospital in the capital until she was fit to be transferred to a detention facility.

Arroyo will occupy the same presidential suite at the Veterans Memorial Medical Centre, a military hospital in Quezon, used by ousted President Joseph Estrada for three-and-a-half years.

The trandfer is the latest chapter in the political drama pitting Arroyo against her popular, reformist successor, Benigno Aquino III, who wants to drive home his anti-corruption agenda.

Arroyo, 64, told a TV station on Thursday that the charges against her are all "demagoguery," accusing Aquino of trying to destroy her reputation.

President from 2001 until 2010, Arroyo is now a member of the lower house of congress and is accused of ordering the rigging of 2007 congressional elections.

She denies the allegations against her and says she needs to travel to seek medical treatment for a spine condition.

The election-fraud charges can carry a penalty of 40 years imprisonment.