The mother of all callous statements

Former president of Islamic Da’wah Foundation Malaysia (Yadim), Nakhaie Ahmad, came out with a statement that non-Muslims in this country have been "too" generously-treated by our government. He also said that: “In attempts to get the vote and support of non-Muslims, the government have been very gracious in giving them their civil rights to vote, participation in politics, to hold office and involvement in the military.

He also stated that: “the governments’ offer must be based on religious practices, citing the example of the Prophet’s Constitution that Rights given to the Jews had to be paid back with responsibility. Nakhaie stressed that non-Muslims that break the social contract must be expelled from the country and asked the government to adopt a tough approach in safeguarding Muslim interest.

Calling on the government to be stern with the non-Muslims, he added that high level government positions should be reserved only for Muslims due to national security, and that non-Muslims be not allowed to hold Ministerial positions in an Islamic State, especially the Defence portfolio.

And to think that Nakhaie was a Former president of Islamic Da’wah Foundation Malaysia. It is no wonder that Muslims in this country have failed miserably to reach out to our non-Muslim brothers. His statement is not only downright ridiculous, it is also downright seditious.

A trap of Umno's own making

A Muslim leader is implying that the non-Muslim citizens in this country do not deserve any rights to be a citizen, and that they can be expelled from this country and be citizen-less if they toe the line. He is also comparing the non Muslims in this country to the likes of the Jews.

How can this this Muslim leader be so dumb. He is a total embarrassment to other Muslim leaders and to the Malay community. He is picking a fight with non Muslims and he was supposed to be the beacon of light in YADIM’s Outreach for lost souls. This very silly statement will cause a lot of non-Muslims in this country to despise our beloved religion.

As a religious leader, he should not be meddling in the Politics of this country, but his political statements are a detriment to the racial and religious sensitivities in this country. His refusal to recognize that non-Muslims in this country are also bona fide citizens and their rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution is also very disturbing.

Never has this nation seen a Malay leader stooping so low, to come up with such thoughtless and unkind statements. This is surely the mother of all callous statements.

Malays from both political divides have been struggling very hard to repair the damage done to our racial unity, and we have been assuring the Chinese, Indians and the Bumiputras of our desire to unite and coexist in racial harmony, no matter which coalition gets to rule the country.

The rights of the non-Malays in this country should never ever be questioned. We keep assuring our fellow citizens that we are brothers-in-arms and that we will look out for each other. But one callous statement from a dinosaur destroys everything that this nation has tried so hard in the past to put together. His very statement has completely ridiculed and crushed 1 Malaysia into smithereens so tiny that it may never ever see the light again.

Maligning the Almighty to mask the reality of daily living conditions

Unlike controversies in the past, this one really takes the cake, and if the government continues to look the other way, and if MCA, MIC, Gerakan, and the other component parties of BN refuses to counter this allegation, it will be a turning point for politics in this country.

Our fruitless vision to realise a country with racial unity and trust is really in tatters. And such callous statements only serve to deter the 12.6 million non-Muslims in this country to shy away from the BN and especially hate UMNO, the undoubted boss of the coalition.

As a Muslim, I find this really embarrassing and I would like to offer my sincere apologies to all non-Muslims. For Nakhaie to stoop so low, as to use our beloved religion to belittle the non-Muslims in this country is simply intolerable.

Such reckless statements should never be uttered in the name of Religion, and I hope it will be the last. Religious sensitivities should never be trashed out in the open. Muslim Leaders must exercise caution when quoting Religion. And any statements against other races or religions must not belittle Islam in the eyes of the world as an ungracious and combative religion.

For the record, let me say it again. Non-Muslims in this country have as much right to exist in this country. Our leaders must adhere to the Federal Constitution and not make sweeping public statements that will harm the country as well as pose a threat to national security.

Never have I seen such flagrant misuse of religion to prove a political point and it is so unbecoming of a past President of YADIM. Is Prime Minister Najib Razak's government so desperate to deflect attention from the reality of price hikes and subsidy cuts? Is the BN so obsessed with power it would malign even the Almighty?

Ultimately, whichever coalition gets to be the next government of Malaysia lies solely in the hands of the Almighty, the final arbiter and decision-maker.

- Malaysia Chronicle