Parliamentary Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim said Malaysia may not be under Taliban rule, or run by the Al Qaeda but there were instances of “extreme bigotry” that he considered “so insane” that Islam was made to look as if was is under threat.
He cited the cases of body snatching at a Chinese funeral in Penang and a Hindu wedding where the bride was carted away for questioning by religious authorities due to suspicion that they were Muslim converts.
He said he was a student of history and Islamic history but never found examples of such intolerance in Muslim societies.
“I had lived in Bukit Mertajam in a mixed community with Chinese and Indians and have never been shown pork because there is such respect for me and my religion,” he added, during his speech at PKR’s fundraising dinner at the Straits Quay last night.
Event organiser Muhammad Baktiar Wan Chik said the party had managed to collect RM900,000 and is expected to purchase premises in Bayan Baru for its headquarters, deemed a PKR stronghold.
State PKR chief Mansor Othman (right) and Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli also spoke in the three hour event.
Anwar then went on to say that due to these racial and religious controversies cropping up, non-Muslims nowadays view Islam with “jaundiced eyes”.
However, these issues are being created to divert attention from government leaders’ inability to answer allegations of corruption, he added.
“They create even the most detailed microscopic issue such as pork DNA in Cadbury chocolates,” Anwar quipped.
Anwar said Pakatan Rakyat leaders have only exposed “the tip of the iceberg” of corruption cases and yet Umno and BN leaders already feel the heat.
When they cannot answer these allegations, they attack Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in Penang to say he is pro-Chinese, while they are the ones “pawning away” Malay land, he added.
Racial and religious politics
He said Umno has resorted to narrow racial and religious politics which is dangerous as “patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”.
“All they can talk about is that Malaysia is a Malay country, we have Malay special rights, so whoever who challenge us is challenging the Malays and Islam,” he lamented.
He said there are 101 reasons why Pakatan oppose Umno and BN but the overarching answer is that the coalition simply does not have the capacity to govern effectively or change for the better.
He cited the Global Financial Integrity report which placed Malaysia as the fourth highest in the world in the list of countries with the largest amount of illegal capital outflow.
However, the response from the government is standard, they say: "It is an exaggeration, that the report is not right”, he said.
“Do you know how India’s response to corruption?” he asked.
“In his first cabinet meeting, new premier Narendra Modi said he could no longer allow money to be stolen from the people, and billions to be siphoned without record. So his first decision was to set up a special investigative committee headed by a very senior supreme court judge. That is how a government should respond,” Anwar asserted.
Anwar was discharged yesterday from a KL hospital after a heart checkup yesterday afternoon, before he held a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, attended the fundraising dinner, and has another three events in Penang today.
At the dinner, Anwar managed to sing two songs on stage, 'Azizah' in Malay and 'It's Now or Never', popularised by the late Elvis Presley.
“My heart is still good. There won’t be a by-election in Permatang Pauh due to my illness, pray to God. They will use the court to do that,” he quipped.
He cited the cases of body snatching at a Chinese funeral in Penang and a Hindu wedding where the bride was carted away for questioning by religious authorities due to suspicion that they were Muslim converts.
He said he was a student of history and Islamic history but never found examples of such intolerance in Muslim societies.
“I had lived in Bukit Mertajam in a mixed community with Chinese and Indians and have never been shown pork because there is such respect for me and my religion,” he added, during his speech at PKR’s fundraising dinner at the Straits Quay last night.
Event organiser Muhammad Baktiar Wan Chik said the party had managed to collect RM900,000 and is expected to purchase premises in Bayan Baru for its headquarters, deemed a PKR stronghold.State PKR chief Mansor Othman (right) and Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli also spoke in the three hour event.
Anwar then went on to say that due to these racial and religious controversies cropping up, non-Muslims nowadays view Islam with “jaundiced eyes”.
However, these issues are being created to divert attention from government leaders’ inability to answer allegations of corruption, he added.
“They create even the most detailed microscopic issue such as pork DNA in Cadbury chocolates,” Anwar quipped.
Anwar said Pakatan Rakyat leaders have only exposed “the tip of the iceberg” of corruption cases and yet Umno and BN leaders already feel the heat.
When they cannot answer these allegations, they attack Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng in Penang to say he is pro-Chinese, while they are the ones “pawning away” Malay land, he added.
Racial and religious politics
He said Umno has resorted to narrow racial and religious politics which is dangerous as “patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel”.
“All they can talk about is that Malaysia is a Malay country, we have Malay special rights, so whoever who challenge us is challenging the Malays and Islam,” he lamented.
He said there are 101 reasons why Pakatan oppose Umno and BN but the overarching answer is that the coalition simply does not have the capacity to govern effectively or change for the better.
He cited the Global Financial Integrity report which placed Malaysia as the fourth highest in the world in the list of countries with the largest amount of illegal capital outflow.
However, the response from the government is standard, they say: "It is an exaggeration, that the report is not right”, he said.
“Do you know how India’s response to corruption?” he asked.
“In his first cabinet meeting, new premier Narendra Modi said he could no longer allow money to be stolen from the people, and billions to be siphoned without record. So his first decision was to set up a special investigative committee headed by a very senior supreme court judge. That is how a government should respond,” Anwar asserted.
Anwar was discharged yesterday from a KL hospital after a heart checkup yesterday afternoon, before he held a press conference in Kuala Lumpur, attended the fundraising dinner, and has another three events in Penang today.
At the dinner, Anwar managed to sing two songs on stage, 'Azizah' in Malay and 'It's Now or Never', popularised by the late Elvis Presley.
“My heart is still good. There won’t be a by-election in Permatang Pauh due to my illness, pray to God. They will use the court to do that,” he quipped.
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