THE MALAYSIAN INSIDER REBUKES THE SULTAN

Khalid Samad is going to be seen as a hero to most Pakatan Rakyat people, especially to the non-Malays. I mean is not Hang Jebat the new hero instead of Hang Tuah who is now seen as an idiot? So are we going to crown Khalid Samad the new Jebat of Malaysian politics?

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Last night, around 7.00pm, His Royal Highness the Sultan of Selangor rebuked PAS Member of Parliament for Shah Alam, Khalid Samad. Today, The Malaysian Insider rebuked the Sultan, although more indirectly and probably even gentler, although that would be a matter of interpretation.

It is starting to become even more interesting by the minute while Khalid’s Twitter message ‘don’t because we want to avoid the wrath of man we invite God’s wrath’ goes viral even as you read this. In short: fear God and not fear man.

It is certainly a very brave editorial (which you can read below) and something that Malaysia Today would normally write rather than a Chinese-owned news portal like The Malaysian Insider. Nevertheless, this is probably the sentiment of 50% (or could be more) of not only Malaysians but also people the world over who in this day and age view the monarchy as an outdated institution that no longer serves the interests of democracy.

Ah, yes, democracy, that most touted and overrated concept. But what does democracy mean if not merely the tyranny of the majority? And how would civil liberties be served in a democratic state? Would what the majority want count or would the minority also have a voice?

Well, you can have a voice but that does not mean your voice will be heard. And you will be allowed freedom of speech but that does not mean you will also have freedom after speech. But how many Malaysians are grown-up enough to understand this in the euphoria of fighting for democracy, human rights and civil liberties?

I said this earlier in this same column a couple of months ago. And what I said is that Selangor is heading for a Constitutional Crisis: one more of many over the last few decades since the 1980s when Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad took on the Rulers to the claps and cheers of even the Malays themselves.

The non-Malays were very careful then, of course, 30 years or so ago. They knew that running down the Rulers is as sensitive as condemning Prophet Muhammad. So they very wisely stayed out and allowed the pro-monarchy Malays and the anti-monarchy Malays to slug it out.

The non-Malays knew that in a family feud between two groups of Malays the non-Malays had better just watch and not speak. After all, was not the infamous May 13 the result of a family feud between two groups of Malays that eventually turned into a race riot that saw the deaths of many non-Malays who were not even involved in the feud in the first place?

The Malays are certainly very strange creatures indeed. They can declare that the Bible is fake and a fabrication but you cannot say that the Qur’an is also fake and a fabrication. They can declare that Jesus is not the Son of God and was never crucified and resurrected but you cannot say that Muhammad did not receive any revelation from God through the angel Gabriel. They can call God Allah but you cannot also call God Allah unless you are Muslim. And the long list of does and don’ts goes on and on.

And the Malays can rebuke the Sultan but heaven forbid that the non-Malays also rebuke the Sultan — or what the Malays would call Raja-Raja Melayu. So how are the Malays going to take The Malaysian Insider editorial below? Will it be seen as freedom of thought, opinion and expression or as a challenge to Islam? After all, the issue here is about Islam and the powers of MAIS to protect the sanctity of Islam.

But the issue is not really just about Islam or the powers of MAIS to protect the sanctity of Islam — although this is the appearance it is given. It is about the authority and powers of the Sultan. And it is about whether the Sultan can refuse to agree to the removal of Khalid Ibrahim as the Menteri Besar of Selangor and to be replaced with Anwar Ibrahim’s nominee.

Ask any PAS leader, Shah Alam Member of Parliament Khalid Samad included, whether they agree to an amendment to the law that forbids Muslims from leaving Islam to become Christians. Even non-PAS leaders such as Anwar Ibrahim would say no.

Apostasy is a no-no in Islam. Apostates would be viewed as vile as paedophiles. And no Muslim would agree (or say openly) that they feel it is the civil liberty of Muslims to leave Islam if they so wish.

Hence there is no such thing as liberal Muslims and fundamental Muslims. There is only one type of Muslim. ‘True’ Muslims would view liberal Muslims as deviants. And that is why many in PAS find it difficult to accept Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, a woman, as the Menteri Besar of Selangor.

So the Sultan needs to be challenged. But the challenge must not be direct, especially if you are Malay. They cannot tell the Sultan that Pakatan Rakyat and not the Sultan decides who should be the Menteri Besar of Selangor. Hence this challenge needs to be disguised behind the cloak of civil liberties — the right of Christians to use Allah in the Malay language Bible.

Are these civil libertarian Malays really fighting for freedom of religion? Can a Muslim say that he or she does not believe in the Qur’an and thinks that Muhammad was a conman who never met Gabriel to receive the Qur’an, as Islam tells us? And because of that, this Malay says, he or she wants to leave Islam?

What a Malay politician says and what he or she believes are two different things. Amongst fellow Muslims they will say one thing and in front of non-Muslims they will say another.

After all, are these not the same people who will refuse to eat pork because it is haram and yet will accept bribes and use the money to buy halal food? What is the difference between eating pork and eating halal chicken that was bought with haram money?

As I said, the Malays are certainly very strange creatures indeed.

Khalid Samad is going to be seen as a hero to most Pakatan Rakyat people, especially to the non-Malays. I mean is not Hang Jebat the new hero instead of Hang Tuah who is now seen as an idiot? So are we going to crown Khalid Samad the new Jebat of Malaysian politics?

I have been saying this for some time and I will say it again. Malaysian politics is the politics of the 3Rs — race, religion and royalty. So let us see whether after Hari Raya Pakatan Rakyat can tell the Sultan that they want Khalid Ibrahim removed and replaced with Anwar Ibrahim’s nominee.

Maybe the Sultan already knew this because Rafizi Ramli has certainly been talking non-stop about his brilliant ‘Kajang Move’. And maybe the Sultan pre-empted this move by flexing his muscles to show that he is the Boss and not Anwar Ibrahim.

And what better way to demonstrate this than by telling Anwar’s spokesman, Khalid Samad, to shut the fuck up and not try to tell the Sultan what he can and cannot do?

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For Khalid Samad, doing the right thing is not easy

The Malaysian Insider Editorial

Doing the right thing is not easy or painless. Often, it invites ridicule, threats and a slap.

But doing the right thing and speaking up for Malaysians is more important than personal discomfort or public humiliation. That is why PAS’s Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad can stand tall in Selangor, despite the dressing-down he received from the Sultan of Selangor yesterday.

He, like all of us godly Malaysians, needs only to answer to our God, and do right by the teaching of our God. Not the prime minister. Not a political party president. Not a sultan. Nobody.

The Selangor sultan was unhappy with the Shah Alam MP for questioning the powers of the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (Mais) and for allegedly suggesting that its executive powers be withdrawn.

The sultan said Khalid should have read the state constitution and the Islamic Religion Administration enactment.

“The Shah Alam MP should not have questioned Mais’s executive powers and suggested that the Pakatan Rakyat government abolish its executive powers.

“I am saddened and disappointed with this irresponsible statement.

“I call on Khalid to be careful in future when he issues statements and not be rude and ignorant when discussing issues in relation to my powers and Mais’s role in advising me about Islam.”

Khalid earned the sultan’s ire for asking on June 26 that two state enactments be reviewed, namely the Enactment on Islamic Laws Administration and Islamic Religion Administration Enactment.

He made the call after Mais defied the attorney-general’s decision that The Bible Society of Malaysia (BSM) was innocent in importing Iban- and Malay-language Bibles. The council also refused to return the Bibles seized from the BSM in January.

Khalid said that Mais was acting with impunity and behaving like “a government within a government” in Selangor.

The Selangor sultan said yesterday that Khalid was rude as the MP had questioned his position as the head of Islam in the state.

Perhaps Khalid was naïve and should have done more research on the state constitution. Perhaps he should have chosen his words carefully. Perhaps.

But, give us an elected representative like him any day: someone who is prepared to speak for all Malaysians and anchor his position on justice and fairness, not race or religion.

The sultan said that Mais would always guarantee that followers of other religions were allowed to practise their faith freely as provided in the Federal Constitution.

But, where was this guarantee when the Jais officers swept the BSM office in Petaling Jaya and seized the Bibles in January, even though they knew that the government’s 10-point resolution allows the import of Malay-language Bibles?

And how does a state body guarantee anything when it is unwilling to even accept the decision of the attorney-general?

Until Mais or Jais walks the talk, these are just words from the sultan. Nothing else.

So Khalid, you may be a bit down today. Columnists and writers in the government-controlled media may ridicule you, and Umno will clamour for some form of punitive action against you.

But there are countless Malaysians who appreciate you for being a man of justice and fairness.

Your “crime” does not even come close to the offences carried out by those who ran the state on behalf of Umno till 2008. Funny, as no one can remember those thieves or corrupt individuals being chastised in public.