Can fools be in Cabinet, asks Perlis mufti after Ahmad Maslan’s remarks

Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin reacts strongly to Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan's remarks that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad did not understand GST. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, April 26, 2015.

Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin has taken Datuk Ahmad Maslan to task for reportedly saying that Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad lacked understanding about the goods and services tax (GST).

Without naming the deputy finance minister, Asri said he now wondered whether a fool could be appointed to important posts in the government.

“If someone who the majority of Malaysians perceive as ‘less intelligent’ (to avoid using the word stupid) because of his statements on GST, says that Tun M, who is famous for his intellect, does not understand GST, then is the person who made that statement wiser than Tun M?” Asri wrote in a Facebook post.

“It got me thinking, in Islamic jurisprudence, a person who is safih (stupid or less intelligent) should not be allowed to manage wealth, even that of his own. So the question is, can people under this category be given the authority to manage the country's affairs, which affect the people?

“Can the less intelligent be given important posts such as that of minister and the like?”

His post which was put up last night has received over 40,000 “likes” and nearly 6,000 shares.

In recent weeks, Ahmad (pic, right) has been widely criticised and lampooned on social media over his defence of GST, especially after he advised students at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) that they should cook their own meals to save costs.

Yesterday, Astro Awani reported Ahmad as saying that Dr Mahathir did not understand GST, and that is why the former prime minister suggested the government to abolish the controversial tax system.

“I think the people around him did not give him the proper explanation about GST. The GST percentage is much lower than SST (sales and services tax). So, how can he say it’s better for the government to cancel GST?” the Pontian MP was quoted as saying.

He also urged those close to Dr Mahathir to explain the GST clearly to him, “without being influenced by the negative comments of the opposition”.

Dr Mahathir again repeated his stand against GST during a meet-the-people session in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

“If they want to add on the sales and services tax, that would have been alright but to introduce a system that even the officers are not sure about... it is a bit too much,” he said. 

- TMI