It was reported that PAS Nasharuddin Mat Isa claimed that the victory of Islam (success of Muslims) has never been attributed to the “kafir “(infidels) but Muslims themselves.
The hollow statement by Nasharuddin smacks of arrogance and reflects his very low intellectual insight of Islam. Nasharuddin is a despondent politician who has now sunk to the lowest bottom of his party’s hierarchy. He is aware that he will not be voted in by Muslims and non-Muslims in the next general election if he were to contest a seat.
A political opportunist who lacks political charisma, Nasharuddin served as the Deputy President of PAS from 2005 to 2011. He won re-election to the position in a contested battle in 2009, which was claimed by observers to be a win for PAS' conservatives.
However, he was defeated for re-election in 2009 by moderate candidate Mohamed Sabu. PAS today is a moderate party.
A drowning man will not be troubled by rain but will look for any straw to clutch on for survival. Unfortunately, it’s too late as the dye is now cast. Presently he is “neither here nor there” in politics due to his incredulous orotundity and seemingly his future in politics is doomed.
Help of the non-Muslims
Nasharuddin is still clinging to a warp thinking relevant 1400 years ago when the “victory” of any tribe at the time depended on the forces within. In the present world, nations are built and “victory” is achieved not through forces of inclusivity or politics of religion but tolerance and intellectual continuum existing among people of different race, religion and nation.
Is it not a glaring fact that many Muslims have found “victory” in life in many ways in all spheres of their life with the help of the non-Muslims? There are thousands of Muslims studying in non-Muslim countries and aren’t the non-Muslims helping to educate them?
Millions of Muslims have found jobs in non-Muslim countries and vice-versa – helping to develop these countries. Unfortunately, Muslim refugees from their “vanquished” war-torn countries are escaping in droves to non-Muslim countries to eke out a living and they have found “victory’ in their newfound “paradise”.
Almost all Muslim countries are doing trade with non-Muslim countries and aren’t these non-Muslim countries helping them to develop their own economy? Aren’t Muslims enjoying the benefits of modern knowledge and inventions in all fields of science and technology created by non-Muslims and making life easier for them?
The car they drive, the computer they use and the jet they fly in are all inventions of non-Muslims. All these are a “victory” for the Muslims helped by the non-Muslims.
“Victory” to the Muslims
In the local setup, thousands of non-Muslim gurus have taught Muslim students from primary to tertiary levels and many of the present Muslim leaders are the product of these gurus. Doctors, lawyers and other professionals have helped the Muslims in many ways and no right-minded Muslim will rebuff this fact.
In a way, the non-Muslims have given considerable “victory” to the Muslims. And they are happy to do so in the name of religion or humanity.
The country is fortunate that it has majority right-thinking Muslims who appreciate the contributions made by the non-Muslims as compared to only a few obsessively bigoted ones – the stiff-necked, arrogant and failed politicians – who deny this fact.
The issue of non-Muslims not supporting the establishment of an Islamic state should not arise in a multi-racial Malaysia.
A secular state
Nasharuddin must be sorely ignorant of the Malaysian Constitution. Malaysia has been constitutionally declared a secular state and naturally there cannot be the issue of establishing an Islamic state unless the Constitution is changed with the support of the majority – Muslim and non-Muslim lawmakers – and with the blessings of the King.
But he has higher ambitions than the issue of establishing an Islamic state best known to him and his few supporters.
It was actually in the good spirit of Muslim and non-Muslim “brotherhood” that the country achieved Independence from the British in 1957. And the Constitution has rightfully defined the country to be a secular state.
The Father of Independence, Tunku Abdul Rahman had a great vision for the country – a vision for the people of all races to live together in harmony as Malaysians.
Even with a Malay majority voice right from the days of Independence, UMNO being the main political base in the previous Alliance and the present Barisan has never mooted the idea of making the country an Islamic state. UMNO is aware of the fact that this is unconstitutional.
UMNO has honoured the Constitution realising that Malaysia is multi-racial and multi-religious and the best formula for unity would still be by adhering to the secular system. The five prime ministers that came after Tunku kept to this structure unscathed.
UMNO has party associates comprising non-Muslims and the major component parties MCA and MIC are, by and large, considered as non-Muslim parties. MCA and MIC for that matter have never objected to the Constitution making Islam the official religion of the nation.
Their support for UMNO has given victory to Barisan and the mandate to govern the country for more than half a century.
Islam as the official religion
The people on the whole observe Islam as the official religion of the country where Islam is the only religion allowed to be presented and propagated on air or television. It’s also part of the school curriculum for Muslim students. No other religions are given this privilege.
And yet the non-Muslims have no objection to this. This can be considered as a “victory” for the Muslims but not necessarily a defeat for the non-Muslims. The tolerance threshold is obviously high among non-Muslims in this context.
Prayers are generally offered to the nation and its leaders by people of all religious groups found in the country. The intention has always been sincere– for the country to be a peaceful place for all to live in.
Non-Muslims in the country seldom bring in religion into politics. They only seek their basic rights to practise their religion as enshrined in the Constitution.
The Constitution guarantees the rights of the non-Muslims to practice their religion even when Islam is made the official religion. And the majority Muslims in the country have no objection to this.
In the name of “religion”
The country has survived without any major religious turmoil for the past 55 years. There are countries in the world with single race and single religion and yet they are facing intra-faith conflicts and sectarian wars and many have become failed states.
People are being killed and properties damaged in the name of “religion”. They see no “victory” to their system of governance.
The advent of a two-party system in Malaysia is not going to destroy the fabric of the society sewn by Tunku and other leaders. A two-party system does not imply a Muslim party versus a non-Muslim party, as both the coalitions are today well represented by Muslims and non-Muslims.
Certainly no parties, even with their majority non-Muslim members, exist to usurp power or demean Islam as the official religion. The Christians in the country only form less than nine percent of the populace.
The country comprises about 60 percent Muslims and 40 percent non-Muslims. The power equation in both coalitions reflects the multi-racial and multi-religion composition of Malaysians. Both Barisan and Pakatan have Muslims and non-Muslims as their members.
Even in a situation where UMNO is the major political party in Barisan it still has Muslim and non-Muslim members. UMNO itself is not purely a Malay-based party. There are non-Muslim indigenous who are members of UMNO.
There are Muslim members in MCA, MIC, Gerakan and PPP too. A Chinese or an Indian Muslim can be members of these parties. The same goes with DAP and PKR – both catering for Muslims and non-Muslims. PAS for that matter accepts Muslims of any race to become its members. But PAS also has non-Muslim supporters.
Bigoted politician
Looking at the nation’s political and demographic profile, Malaysian political parties are almost all of mixed entities. The non-Muslims in Barisan or the previous Alliance have helped to prop up a government that has been dominated by Malay Muslims for the past 55 years.
Neither is it a marriage of convenience or for short-term political gains for opportunists or self-centred Muslims or non-Muslims. It’s a reality that Malaysians are multi-racial and multi-religious.
This same pragmatic formula has worked in states controlled by Pakatan – Penang, Selangor, Kedah and Kelantan. The government is formed with the support of Muslims and non-Muslims.
It’s therefore uncouth for a bigoted politician to call the non-Muslims “kafir” (infidels) and that they have never helped to give “victory” to Islam or establish a government dominated by Muslims in the past. The word “kafir” used on non-Muslims in the Malaysian context is too generic a term and is unwarranted.
The bigoted politician does not seem to acknowledge the country’s real political equation and is embarrassingly manipulating religious sentiments to score some brownie points – a short cut to his brand of politics to achieve his sinister goals.
Self-serving politician
The people are aware that Islam is not threatened by any other religions in the country. Neither is Christianity or Hinduism a threat to Islam in Malaysia.
Only a self-serving politician will make religion a tool to seek power. There are many leaders who are despondent, ambitious and rejected by the majority who are making use of religion to seek supreme status in politics. These leaders will be rejected by Malaysians – Muslims or non-Muslims.
It’s without doubt that power sharing in the country has made the country unwarlike – Barisan at the national level and Pakatan in the four states they control. No other formula will work better for the nation other than this time-tested formula that exists today.
It can be Barisan or Pakatan but the governance of the country has to be based on power-sharing among politicians of various races and religions. Ignore this formula and the country will end up becoming a pariah state.
Praying for the country
Accusing the Christians that they are praying for the country to become a Christian state is just immature, preposterous and disgusting. All Churches offer prayers to the nation no doubt but the norm is praying for the country to be blessed by the Divine power for the people to live in harmony.
Prayers are also offered in places of worship of other religions. One unique element found in the local context is that people of all races and religions pray for the King too – the country’s symbol of unity.
Barisan or Pakatan, the formula of power sharing in a multi-racial Malaysia is a momentous constituent found in their respective political manifestos. A politician who is short-sighted and keeps on using religion as a tool to divide the people to achieve his personal goal will be weeded out by the majority voters.
The world has seen enough wars and wrecks in many countries caused by intra-racial and intra-religious conflicts. They see no “victory” whatsoever in their formula of governance. This will not happen in this country as long as both Barisan and Pakatan adhere to power sharing between Muslims and non-Muslims within their political ranks and framework when given the mandate to rule.
Thrown out by the voters
No coalition between the two – Barisan and Pakatan – can survive with an anti-Malay or anti-Islam stance. Neither can they be against the non-Malays or the freedom of non-Muslims practising a religion of their choice.
The Constitution is supreme and as long as the Constitution remains “sacred” Malaysians will hear zilch about splitting up. Voters are not oblivious to the fact that politics exploiting divisive elements can never be the solution for the future of this country.
In any case, one swallow does not make a summer. A politician who is politically “broke” and puts his foot on the wrong stepladder will soon find himself tumbling and thrown out by the voters.
Let him seek solace elsewhere if he is still wanted by any political party.
Malaysia Chronicle
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