Obedience to country’s leaders an obligation, Muslims told

Muslims perform Friday prayers at Masjid Jamek in Kuala Lumpur July 27, 2012. — Picture by Choo Choy MayKUALA LUMPUR, March 29 ― Obeying the country’s leaders is an obligation in Islam while betrayal is considered a huge sin, Muslims nationwide were told today in the official Friday sermons prepared by the federal government.

This comes amid a protracted “Ops Daulat” offensive campaign to flush out armed Sulu invaders in Lahad Datu, Sabah, which has entered its third week with no end in sight.

“The patriotism spirit towards this country demands us to obey and be loyal to our leaders completely,” said the Friday sermon by the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (JAKIM) that was uploaded into its official website today.

“Based on Quranic arguments and the Prophet’s hadith, ulamas have agreed that obeying leaders is an obligation for each Muslim, while rebelling against them is a huge sin.”

Based on a text by a cleric called Imam Nawawi, the sermon declared that rebelling and waging war against leaders is haram (forbidden).

The act of rebelling includes disputing a legitimate decision made by leaders who were given the powers to govern a country, through an illegitimate channel.

“We would like to stress that the attitude of not loving the country, inciting chaos, destroying racial unity and being selfish will destruct the sovereignty of our people and country,” the sermon said, while equating those with such attributes as hidden enemies.

The federal government has been criticised for its handling of the Sabah conflict that has seen eight policemen and two soldiers killed in gunfights with members of a Filipino Muslim “royal army” that landed in a remote village near Lahad Datu on February 9 to reclaim its 17th century stake on the north Borneo state.

Putrajaya’s initial negotiations with the 200-strong rag band led by Agbimuddin Kiram, a self-styled crown prince to the Sulu sultanate, to quit Sabah peacefully was seen as kid-glove treatment for invaders that threatened the country’s security and sovereignty. 

Its failure to flush out the militants a month-and-a-half after their invasion has also fired up debate over the government’s controversial decades-old decision under “Projek IC” to naturalise immigrants that have flooded Sabah, and who are now being blamed for the rise in crime and other social and economic problems plaguing the state.

More than a quarter of Sabah’s population are foreigners, totalling a staggering 889,000 out of the 3.2 million-strong population in Sabah, or about 28 per cent, based on a 2010 census.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has set up a royal panel to investigate the allegations that the government under the Mahathir administration had offered citizenships for votes, as well as established the Eastern Sabah Safety Zone (ESSZONE) to protect the people of Sabah ahead of national polls due any day now.

Sabah Barisan Nasional leaders representing the state’s native Kadazan, Dusun and Murut community have also proposed the federal government replace the existing mandatory identity cards with new ones to tighten security.

The opposition Pakatan Rakyat, however, has been digging out official records to show a link between the rebel leaders and the state BN government, in a bid to boost the pact’s chances to break the ruling coalition’s hold over east Malaysia.

Last week, PKR displayed a 1975 document showing one “Datu Agbimudin Kiram” had been on the Sabah civil servants payroll as an assistant district officer in Kudat.