Ku Li: Jakim an unconstitutional body

SHAH ALAM: Veteran Umno leader Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has alleged that the political exploitation of Islam is usually the work of leaders without grounding in the religion, and they include Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who established Jakim, the federal department for Islamic development.

Jakim was a result of Umno’s attempt to out-Islamise PAS and its establishment was unconstitutional, the Gua Musang MP told FMT in a recent interview.

He said Mahathir saw PAS as a threat when he was in power. “So he went on with his Islamic programmes, setting up Jakim, for instance.”

He said those Umno politicians who joined the “who-is-more-Islamic” race were mostly people who lacked Islamic knowledge to any appreciable depth. “That’s why they go all out on religion, to compensate for what they lack, just like Mahathir.”

Jakim’s establishment was formally announced in 1997. It is a unit of the Prime Minister’s Department. Among its responsibilities is to determine the halal validity of products from the consumer food sector, which is worth billions of ringgit.

Ku Li also referred to the “Inculcation of Islamic Values” policy announced by Mahathir soon after he became prime minister in 1981.

The policy became more aggressive after firebrand Islamist leader Anwar Ibrahim joined Umno a year later, in what was then considered a major catch by the Malay party in its bid to neutralise the influence of PAS, which had begun to promote its idea of an Islamic state.

According to Ku Li, Umno has no need for such a policy .

“Umno is already Islamic,” he said. “You need not tell the world that we are Islamic. We are already Muslims. And there’s no such thing as extreme Islam or moderate Islam. Islam is Islam.”

He said many of the former prime minister’s moves in the name of Islam were “just to show that Umno is more Islamic” than PAS.

He disagreed with a suggestion that Umno, as a party, was leaning towards regressive Islamic conservatism.

He acknowledged that some of the party’s leaders were promoting such conservatism, but he said this was not the case with those at the grassroots. “Just go to the kampungs and talk to the Umno leaders there,” he added.

Ku Li and Mahathir were pitted in a bitter battle for the Umno presidency in 1987. This led to a break-up of the ruling party between the pro-Mahathir “Team A” and pro-Razaleigh “Team B”.

The Kelantan prince is not the first to question Jakim’s status, which has frequently been accused of promoting extreme Islamic conservatism.

One prominent critic is Sultan Ibrahim of Johor, who in 2015 questioned the huge annual budget allocations for the department.

“We are the heads of religion in our own states,” the sultan has been quoted as saying in a press interview. “Jakim can give advice or propose guidelines but it is up to us whether we want to accept it or not.”

Late last year, Jakim again came under attack from the Johor ruler after a preacher in its employment, Zamihan Mat Zin, criticised the palace’s order to close down a Muslim-only laundrette in the state.

Three years ago, former MP Tawfik Ismail suggested that Jakim be abolished, sparking a debate on its constitutionality.

Excerpts from the interview: Ku Li on PAS

FMT: You have first hand experience in dealing with PAS. In fact with your help, PAS won Kelantan in 1990, and for the last five general elections, it’s still with PAS.

Ku Li: It’s not my help, it was the Kelantan people’s help. They were upset with Mahathir whom they thought cheated me out of the election for the presidency of Umno. So the Kelantan people said, “Now I want you to be in PAS”. I could sense it, they wanted to teach Mahathir a lesson, and so they went in droves and supported PAS.

FMT: Strange bedfellows these days. We see Umno and PAS are becoming closer.

Ku Li: For limited programmes, like in the Rohingya issue, to help Al-Azhar graduates.

FMT: But the fact is there is a marked difference with the rhetoric coming from PAS top leaders these days when it comes to Umno…

Ku Li: But we’re still not one!

FMT: But what would your advice be for Umno when dealing with PAS, whether for politics or not?

Ku Li: For the sake of society, we should not think too much of PAS’s extremist views, because it divides society and also the Muslims. We cannot tolerate that. We live in a multiracial society that must have tolerance and unity. That’s what Umno wants. Umno might be fighting for Malays, because the Malays were left behind by the British. But that’s history now. The Malays are coming into society now so let’s be together.

FMT: Multiracial, tolerance, these are words a lot of Malaysians want to hear. But then you see the hardline position taken by the ruling party.

Ku Li: That’s by one or two people, not a party policy.

FMT: But they are in the senior leadership positions…

Ku Li: Because they have power. People with executive authority must not act independently and exercise discretionary powers. There should not be high-handedness in dealing with things. Like the Attorney-General, he can say whether there is a case or no case, whether you can be hung or not hung. This is the British system. It’s good, but unless we follow the law to the letter, people tend to abuse their position.

Ku Li on religious conservatism

FMT: Do you think that Umno is leaning towards more “conservative” Islam?

Ku Li: Not Umno, but the leaders. They are able to wean the influence because they have power. How long they are going to be there?

FMT: But Umno has become more conservative now.

Ku Li: As reflected by the thoughts of a few. Not the general members. Go to the kampungs and talk to the Umno leaders there. Now it’s top-down, not from bottom-up. I believe in the bottom-up, so did Tunku Abdul Rahman. So was Dato Onn, to listen to the people. -FMT