'Why Umno is outraged over Mosque committee elections'

TEMERLOH - UMNO’s opposition to a plan by the Penang Islamic Affairs Council (MAIPP) to hold elections for mosque committees is due to fear it would lose its stranglehold on mosques in the state.

Pahang PAS commissioner Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (pic),welcoming MAIPP's move, said the system was nothing new, adding that UMNO's past practice in appointing mosque chairmen and committees was only to ensure party members controlled mosques and not members of the congregation in a mosque's neighbourhood.

“The issue should not have turned into polemic for political parties, because the election is not based on political parties," said the former PAS vice president.

"It is better than the current method in which the government appoints the committee without the consent of members of the mosque congregation,” he told Harakahdaily.

He pointed out that in Selangor, the congregation within a mosque's neighbourhood elect the mosque chairman and committee members which will then be approved by the state's Islamic Affairs council.

This he said encouraged mosques and suraus in Selangor to be more active with various programmes organised.

“Is this what UMNO is afraid of?” ask Tuan Ibrahim, responding to protests by UMNO leaders over MAIPP's decision to democractically appoint mosque committee members.

UMNO leaders have also accused the state government led by DAP of having the intention to interfere in the running of mosques. Zairil Khir Johari, political secretary to the Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng, however denied the allegation as the DAP had no representative in MAIPP.

“DAP has no representative in MAIPP. If MAIPP thinks the move is appropriate, it’s entirely up to MAIPP and Muslims in Penang. DAP has no involvement whatsoever in the effort,” Zairil told DAP's Bahasa Malaysia websiteRoketkini.

Tuan Ibrahim meanwhile pointed out that UMNO had always abused its control of mosques by appointing party chieftains, although many did not frequent the same mosques.

“Such appointments created great dissatisfaction among the mosque congregation and officials causing many mosques to be dead, not functional and unmanaged.

"The effort to correct this weak system should be welcomed by all quarters,” he explained.

'Some UMNO committee members not mosque goers'

He also dismissed the claim that electing mosque officials would result in mosques being controlled by certain parties, and stressed that the election was not based on political parties.

“UMNO's greatest fear is that the committee members appointed by them will no longer be elected, because some of them are not members of the mosque's congregation, not even a mosque goer,” he quipped.

Tuan Ibrahim said that having a database of a mosque's permanent congregation would ease management of mosques.

He added that UMNO's suspicion towards Pakatan Rakyat governments had caused them to be "not rational even when something is good".

He said UMNO should instead emulate Pakatan Rakyat state governments in Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan whose mosques have become knowledge hubs and community centres.

“Their zeal to build beautiful mosques with millions of allocation bears no meaning if they are left empty, abandoned without any activities other than prayers,” he said.

Tuan Ibrahim said UMNO's control of mosques without free elections had resulted in mismanagement of mosques, including failure to conduct annual meetings.

As such, PR governments had corrected this flaw by returning the right to administer mosques to their permanent congregations.

- Harakahdaily