Does Malaysia need a Saddam Hussein?

“And we will look for a candidate.” 

- Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin

Recently PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang – who still has not replied to my numerous open letters and which makes me sad because he is the only one I have written to – said that we should debate people like controversial Muslim preacher Zakir Naik instead of turning the issue into a political one. Well, in the spirit of that admonishment, I will start with Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin.

The Perlis mufti (does the DAP still want to build bridges with him?) said that Malaysia needs a strongman like Saddam Hussein to take on the “many thugs we currently have”. This I find strange because as far the DAP leaders are concerned, I think they are a bunch of pussy cats. He did not mention the DAP but seeing as how they are his favourite target, it is not hard to imagine that he views them as one of the numerous anti-Malay thugs we have in this country.

Before the elections, DAP leaders were roaring their heads off at the drop of a hat but since the Grand Poobah has taken over, they are bending over backwards to justify policies decisions that their base has no interest in. Which I suppose means that anyone who supports the DAP is an anti-Malay thug.

I mean, take this whole khat fiasco which has got Asri all riled up. “But if learning three to six pages of Jawi in Tanah Melayu can trigger a war-like situation, is this being respectful to the landowners?"

What "war-like" situation? The DAP? They were performing all sorts of unsavoury rhetorical tricks to push the issue forward. Dong Zong and the other educational groups? They were doing what they have always been doing - ensuring that the Islamisation process does not further encroach into our public and private spaces. So what "war-like" situation is there? Angry letters and bruised feelings? This passes for "war-like" in the minds of Asri and his acolytes?

And for something like this and to protect an alleged money launderer and someone who allegedly stole from Islamic funds meant for the disenfranchised - Zakir Naik – the Perlis mufti wants to find a mass murderer to lead this country? Correction: he and his followers - "we" - intend to find an extremist like Saddam to lead this country?

Abdul Hadi Awang

Hadi claims that we should “debate” religious leaders when it comes to Islam. Okay. So how about the Perlis mufti who claims that Islam is about peace, that it is axiomatic that Muslims are "anti-racism" which does not require explanations but yet claims he wants to seek out a political operative who like Saddam Hussein butchered his own people and who at one time was an ally of Western imperialists that some Muslims like to blame for all the troubles in the world.

Let me get this straight. The Perlis mufti makes public statements that he and his coterie are looking for a mass-murdering extremist to lead this country and the state security apparatus is worried about today's anti-Zakir Naik and khat rally? Imagine if a non-Muslim had said that he or she was seeking a mass-murdering psychopath to lead this country because they had enough of Malay rule in this country. What do you think the response from the security and political apparatus would have been?

Here we have the Perlis mufti who is known to be antagonistic to the Shia school of Islamic thought - reminding the non-Malays that the Malays are the owners of the land seeking someone like Saddam Hussein who has killed innocent civilians, his political opponents and yes, thousands of Shia, and there is silence from the state security apparatus. And you wonder why some people are Islamophobic? You wonder why people distrust the state security apparatus? You wonder why some people vent and rant on social media?

The mistake people make is this - that this is some sort of joke. I am glad to see there has been blowback on Asri’s comments by Malay political groups, activists and some political operatives but the reality is that many people think that people like this are only worth laughing at.

This is a grave mistake. When calling for the deportation of Zakir Naik, I received the usual straw man and ad hominem – ironically from some non-Malays – who always seem to misinterpret my arguments. But here is the thing. These people are dangerous. This is not a laughing matter. When I call for the deportation of someone like Zakir Naik, I do so because I believe he is a threat to national security. And I do not mean only to non-Muslims. Religious extremists more often than not target their own in Muslim-majority countries.

Zakir Naik

Asri likes to talk about how he defended non-Malay rights as if those rights were separate and distinct from the greater Malaysian polity. And you know what? He is right. Are all citizens of this country treated the same under the law in the sense of enjoying whatever our tax ringgit is used for? We have all this noise about how we are citizens of this country but is the reality reflective of the grand speeches made by political operatives or people with power?

People like Asri for a time gained political currency with the anti-BN crowd because he said things that appealed to non-Muslims. Every time a Malay in power, of power or close to power, says things that appeal to non-Muslims, they gobble up these words as if they mean something. They really do not in any practical sense. It is, in reality, a kind of propaganda.

Some folks say that I am obsessed about the fate of Pastor Raymond Koh and social activist Amri Che Mat. What they fail to understand is that the state was implicated in their disappearances. And the response of the state could be summed up as dangerous nonchalance.

You really think that people like Asri and Zakir Naik would have any problem if Islam in this country reigned supreme and the non-Muslims were grovelling in a corner, fearful that every word or gesture would be sanctioned by an Islamic state? Zakir is on record a saying that it the duty of Muslims to support corrupt, dangerous Muslim individuals over non-Muslim leaders.

Now Asri believes that a strongman like Saddam Hussein is needed to unite the country. He does not mean unite Malaysians regardless of race or religion. He means unite Muslims against the dangerous non-Muslim "thugs" who pose a threat to racial and religious hegemony and Muslims who do not support the religious orthodoxy of the state.

Remember, if you think that this is a joke, the reality is that you are the punchline.

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. A retired barrister-at-law, he is one of the founding members of Persatuan Patriot Kebangsaan. - Mkini