YOURSAY | PAS ‘ban-wagon’ targets minorities

YOURSAY | ‘I expect that banning 4D stores is only the promise of more to come.’

Sanusi: Kedah won't renew gaming shop licences, effectively banning them

Vijay47: Everyone must sit up and take note when Muslim politicians embark on the public road of religiosity; only recently were we enlightened by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s theological revelation that there was nothing sinful in that delightful practice called corruption.

Not to be outdone, Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has now jumped aboard the “ban-wagon” by seeking the elimination of betting outlets – his pious fear is that when he meets the good Lord, he would be queried on “what he had done about this issue”.

We must assume that in his spiritual fervour, he believes this is the only box left un-ticked, that all other ills have been cured.

I think not. Sir, what is your take on incest and drug-taking, particularly prevalent in your own community? Surely, they exist in majestic magnitude?

Surely you are not suggesting that your God views such rampant pastimes with favour? You claim that betting creates social ills; do you perhaps imagine that incest and drug-taking contribute to strengthening “family institutions”?

Since you seem inspired by warped thinking, I expect that banning 4D stores is only the promise of more to come.

Doc: Bersatu, PAS and Umno are all trying to fight tooth and nail to get Malay voters to their respective sides.

I think they are aware that Malays are unhappy with all these ketuanan (supremacy) parties for coming to power and yet causing the destruction of Malay’s economic and social well-being.

These Malay-first politicians and ministers have exhibited profound stupidity, incompetence, corruption, extreme racism, habitual lying and have bungled our response to the Covid pandemic as well as the economic recovery.

So now Umno’s strategy in fighting for Malay votes is by trying to say they are saving them from the incompetent ‘abah’ and Bersatu. Bersatu is trying to fight for Malay votes by saying they are saving them from the corrupt Umno.

But Umno and Bersatu are trying not to ruffle non-Malay voters because they know if any of these parties can get the Malays to their side, they still need non-Malay voters and parties to form the federal government.

Unfortunately, PAS’ scorch-earth strategy is to claim it is the only one that can save the Malays from the immoral kafir and their anti-Islam lifestyle, thus ensuring the Malays will get to heaven.

That is why PAS and this Kedah MB are hoping to fool the Malays by claiming to be concerned about their heavenly rewards and cooking up non-starter issues like Timah whiskey and this 4D issue.

This is to divert Malays’ attention from the fact that PAS consists of incompetent administrators.

Very Concerned Citizen: The backdoor government with PAS is slowly eroding the rights of the non-Malays.

I cannot understand how Sanusi’s mind works. The move will reduce revenue for the state and secondly, in this day and age, the illegal numbers syndicates can use smartphones as anyone can buy numbers online.

It is very clear for our Muslim friends that it is haram for them to gamble or drink alcohol. So, they should not be going into the 4D shops.

Sanusi is jealous that neighbouring Penang is doing well economically. I hope come the next election, the people of Kedah will throw him and the state government out.

Don’t Know What To Say: I can’t help but think that it is a political stunt to trick the kampung folks.

Indeed, nowadays you can gamble online, there is no need for you to go to a shop. The idea of having legalised shops is to collect taxes and create jobs. This ban will benefit the black market and illegal gambling operators.

The Middle Man: Isn’t the directive unconstitutional? The rights of fellow Malaysians can’t be taken away.

If your religion says you can’t drink or gamble, it’s up to you to adhere to it and not drink nor gamble. But you can’t deny other Malaysians from carrying on a legitimate business or choosing to have a tipper or a chance of good luck.

Random Malaysian: Although I am agreeable to such policy since I am personally against gambling, taking policy actions based on personal religious belief is a dangerous way to govern our country.

Please make policies using an evidence-based approach. Show how and why gambling has caused harm to the community in Kedah.

Do consider the possibility that banning such activities will cause these activities go underground, resulting in more unseen harm to the community.

Malaysian Earthling_0721: This is a case of shallow minds not giving any respect to the non-Muslim community and coming up with such silly policies.

You should also ban smoking and God knows how many thousands die from this addiction in Kedah.

CBH909: In fairness, the Kedah MB has discovered a long unresolved problem. How do we best solve this problem?

It's imperative that we first clearly define the problem and then weigh what will be the best approach to resolve it. Now if the problem can be more clearly defined, we can proceed with a solution.

We will need rationalisation from Kedah, complete with more details of what are the problems before deciding on action.

Not renewing licences? Is this what you want? Or is it what is needed? Think clearly. As a country, we have our country's needs, but what about the wants of millions of people?

Even an MB must not be prioritised above the needs of our people and nation.

Cocomomo: While I do not agree with gambling which can be damaging, the MB is hypocritically acting like an extremist. He is denying the rights of a large group of Malaysians.

Does he seriously expect investors and tourists to still go to Kedah? - Mkini