'Muslims can pinpoint cause of apostasy to their own'

Had the Muslim-dominated government in Malaysia practised Islamic principles through proper administration of the country, the issue of Muslims leaving the faith would not have arisen.

PAS information chief Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, commenting on claims that Muslims had left Islam in droves, felt strange that such a phenomenon existed even when the government, which controls the broadcast media, dedicates space for Islamic programmes as opposed to other religions.

"How could Muslims apostate and lose their belief in Islam, which is given wide media space compared to the other religions which have no access to mainstream media?" asked Tuan Ibrahim.

Alluding to a recent complain by former UMNO strongman Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the party shunned intellectuals, Tuan Ibrahim said the answer could be found within the Muslim community themselves.

"We must understand the real reason behind the issue of apostasy. We should not look for scapegoats to cover up weakenesses of a government which is outwardly Islamic but in fact believes in narrow nationalism which contradicts Islam," he added.

-Harakahdaily