PAS clamour on gambling punctured by Tabung Haji silence

 For all its noise on a gambling ban, the Islamic party failed to do so when it was part of the federal government led by Muhyiddin Yassin.

From Clement Stanley

PAS ulama council information chief Nor Hamzah wants Muslim voters to help the Islamic party form the next federal government so it can abolish gambling once and for all.

His call follows the failure of the PAS-led Kedah government to overturn a court ruling that barred it from refusing to renew local council business licences of pool betting and lottery operators.

This rallying call is funny for one reason. PAS was part of the federal government led by Muhyiddin Yassin. Did it try to ban gambling then? Not at all.

In fact, in 2021, the government of the day gave gaming companies permission to hold 22 “special draws” for 4D numbers, on top of the usual thrice-weekly draws. Muhyiddin, according to news reports, justified the move to beef up government coffers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

But when Anwar Ibrahim came to power his government allowed gaming companies to hold only eight “special draws” a year from 2023 onwards. Anwar appears to have done more to reduce gambling than a religious party like PAS.

Voters should maybe ask themselves these questions: if PAS could not abolish gambling then, could it do so if it forms the government? And second, if Anwar managed to reduce the number of special draws, wouldn’t it be better to bet on him instead?

The focus on lotteries is misplaced, especially when gaming companies, along with brewery and tobacco companies, financially assist vernacular schools, providing some respite for the government.

PAS should instead focus on the Tabung Haji fiasco which affects Muslims nationwide. The party should have done so, and could have, except that its MPs decided to walk out during the special Dewan Rakyat sitting on the royal commission of inquiry report on Tabung Haji.

For all its chest-thumping about wanting to protect Muslim interests, PAS has committed one unforgivable sin in the eyes of supporters and voters — the party chose to remain silent on the Tabung Haji fiasco.

But you know who from the opposition remained in the lower house? Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman. Unlike PAS, the Muar MP doesn’t go around town harping on religious issues but when it mattered, at least he showed up.

Maybe voters should ask themselves two other questions:

One, if PAS could not bring itself to speak up about serious issues affecting the Muslim community, would it and could it do so if it is in the government? Second, since Syed Saddiq took part in the debate on TH – despite not putting up a holier-than-thou image – wouldn’t it be better to invest in him?

No matter how much anyone claims that safeguarding Muslim interests remains the priority in this country, nothing beats walking the talk. - FMT

Clement Stanley is an FMT reader.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.