Jamil Khir Baharom's 'sin' remark against Nurul Izzah draws flak

KUALA LUMPUR (Harakahdaily) - Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Islamic affairs Jamil Khir Baharom has been reprimanded by Pakatan Rakyat leaders for accusing Lembah Pantai member of parliament Nurul Izzah Anwar as having sinned.

Khir had made the remark following Nurul Izzah's interview with an Indonesian paper earlier this week in which she had criticised Malaysia's New Economic Policy and questioned the country’s latest submarines which had been riddled with problems.

According to Khir, it is a ‘jihad’ (holy war) to protect the nation’s good name, adding that Nurul Izzah had sinned for discrediting the nation with the intention of creating chaos in the country.

“I would like to ask Jamil Khir, if Nurul Izzah is sinful for bad-mouthing the country, what about corruption, slanders, tyranny and victimisation of the people? Will these be rewarded? This is UMNO’s teachings?” said PKR deputy secretary general, Sharifah Shahidah.

Nurul Izzah, who is the eldest daughter of Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, had since explained that her answers given to Indonesian daily Kompas were based on the official answer from the Defence minister on March 17 which had stated that KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, the French-manufactured submarine delivered recently, was not allowed to dive due to technical problems.

As for the New Economic Policy (NEM), she had explained that the policy was rife with rhetoric.

“Of course the biggest ‘jihad’ is to have the courage to tell the truth in the face of tyrants. My guidance is based on the Qur'an and Sunnah, only certain leaders chose to be picky in their principles,” rebutted Izzah, adding it was more sinful for her had she remained silent over abuses by the government.

PAS vice president Mahfuz Omar, rose to Nurul Izzah's defence by poking fun at Jamil.

“Najib (Razak) had appointed Jamil as sins’ recorder,” he quipped.

Titiwangsa MP Dr Lo Lo Ghazali meanwhile said Jamil’s remarks were merely to cover up the facts surrounding the high cost of restoring the submarines.

“Ask Jamil to read the Hansard and give a ‘fatwa’ who is sinful actually,” she said.

It has been reported earlier that Boustead Holdings's subsidiary Boustead DCNS Naval Corporation had secured a contract to provide in-service support for the two Scorpene submarines.