Be fair in judging the gov't, Umno Youth chief says

The people must be fair in their assessment of the current Pakatan Harapan government's ability to ensure that the status of Islam in Malaysia would not be compromised, said Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki. 

Asyraf, a former deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs under the previous BN administration, said he now places hope on the current Harapan administration to make sure that the status of Islam would continue to be upheld.

"We should not be unfair towards the Harapan government after only two months of being in power.

"It cannot be only after two months in power we have passed a judgement that the future of Islam will be destroyed under a Harapan administration," Asyraf told a packed forum organised by NGO Ikram in Shah Alam last night.

Commenting further, Asyraf said the government should, however, deal with related concerns raised by Malay-Muslims in a careful and wise manner.

Rather than denying or dismissing the people's perception that Harapan is anti-Islam, Asyraf said the government could prove their commitment through policies such as to approve allocations for various Islamic institutions.

"Pakatan Harapan should highlight that the government would not only continue to defend Islam's status under the Federal Constitution but also prove it through their actions," said Asyraf.

As an example, he cited how Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng could counter the perceptions surrounding a non-Malay holding the post by continuing to approve funds previously granted to Islamic religious schools, Islamic institutions, as well as various initiatives to strengthen Islam in Malaysia.

"This is among my personal hope that the government would not reduce these amounts previously approved by the BN government," he added. 

New environment 'more open' for Islam

Other panelists who spoke at the forum titled 'The Future of Islam Under a Pakatan Harapan government' were DAP member and constitutional expert Abdul Aziz Bari, PAS research director Zuhdi Marzuki and Amanah spiritual advisor Ahmad Awang.

Commenting on the forum's topic, Abdul Aziz expressed confidence that the future of Malay-Muslims in Malaysia would remain bright under a Pakatan Harapan government.

"In this new environment that is free and more open, I believe it would bring about a positive impact as Islam can be practiced in a more transparent and accountable manner," said Aziz.

Among others, Aziz said Harapan's move to review the role of Jakim could result in more powers to administer matters related to Islam being returned to the respective states.

Harapan's critics have consistently claimed that the coalition would compromise the rights of Malay-Muslims in Malaysia to retain support of non-Malays who had voted overwhelmingly against Barisan Nasional in GE14 and several previous general elections.

Some quarters have also expressed uneasiness over the new administration's choice of appointing non-Muslims to several other high-profile legal roles, including the senior judge Richard Malanjum as the new chief justice, Tommy Thomas as attorney-general and Liew Vui Keong as de facto law minister. - Mkini