YOURSAY | PAS minister should heed Selangor sultan's advice

 

YOURSAY | ‘Sultan's rebuke is a slap on the face of self-serving attitudes of religious bodies.’

S'gor sultan: Idris should attend Bon Odori, differentiate culture, religion

Vijay47: It might seem just a rap on the knuckles, but “Minister, do not use the Department of Islamic Development Affairs (Jakim) to confuse the Muslims” from His Highness (Selangor’s Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah) is a resounding slap heard around the country.

It is an acknowledgement of the self-serving attitudes of Muslim religious bodies, particularly those that are willingly under the yoke of PAS.

The sultan’s gentle but telling reprimand is perhaps an indication that Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (Jais) and Jakim have not been useful assets to Muslims, and even to non-Muslims, into whose lives they have brazenly interfered.

Religious Affairs Minister Idris Ahmad with his PAS mentality is a lost cause; as expected, he has adopted a disruptive and divisive stand when harmony is what we need with increasing urgency.

This may also be an opportune moment to audit the entire scope of Jais and Jakim's activities these many recent years.

Perhaps for openers, the halal certificate issue, which subsisted for years, definitely needs a revisit since it appears that nobody in the relevant body was prosecuted.

That long-standing issue cannot be glossed over as just another day at the office.

Public Transport is Better Than Highways: If the religious authorities must come up with such statements to dissuade Muslims in the country from even attending events like Bon Odori, one must wonder whether their faith in their own religion is strong enough to be not dissuaded by other influences.

Are Jakim and Jais insinuating that Muslims in this country are weak in their faith?

BusinessFirst: Is this not a clear slap in the face for PAS?

Personally, if the minister has any pride he should resign. If he does not want to resign, then he should come out and defend his statement. Failing that, he should seek an audience with the sultan and do a mea culpa.

Keeping silent and clinging on to the job just reeks of cowardice. When he targets minorities, he roars like a lion. Now in the face of an obvious rebuke by the sultan, he is silent as a mouse.

VGeorgemy: Idris should have sought the Selangor sultan's guidance and permission before interfering with the state's religious affairs. How can a federal minister issue diktats without the permission of the state's Islamic head?

Idris's call to boycott a cultural event with no religious deity veneration is a deliberate provocation to create confusion and anxiety among Malaysians.

RR: Indeed, Idris should take the Selangor sultan's good advice as His Highness is the state's head of Islam.

Let not the proposal of the minister to ban the Japanese cultural event be deemed as Malaysia going the Taliban way by our trading partners as that may affect foreign investments in the long term.

Clever Voter: The Selangor sultan as head of state did exactly the right thing to stop the parochial attitudes of our politicians.

It is obvious that many, if not all, cannot tell the difference between religion and culture. It is obvious the country has moved rapidly from a model secular state, with respect for diversity of values and cultures, to a religious state.

The blame falls squarely on our self-serving politicians who have used religion to serve their greed, and as a means to perpetuate feudal control over the people.

Traveloka Winning: I hope that everyone respects Idris' freedom of speech. He is representing a large portion of Malaysians and his view should be examined carefully.

He is well-meaning. His remarks contain a lot of gems and will help Muslims live a holy life as well as to ensure a good afterlife.

If everyone follows Idris' advice, I am sure that Malaysia will become an economic powerhouse and a holy nation at the same time, and in no time!

Durian_Lazat: @Traveloka, your sarcasm is priceless.

Scarecrow: Yes, the sultan has freedom of speech, and so does Idris. Both the sultan and Idris are correct in their respective views which are based on different perspectives.

Some Muslims obey the sultan and they should be allowed to go and enjoy the Bon Odori festival. Some Muslims believe that Idris is right and they have a right not to go.

There is no need for non-Muslims to delve further into this issue. No one is telling the non-Muslims not to go.

The Realist: This is a wise decision not to politicise Islam in the lives of all communities in Malaysia.

As the Selangor sultan has come forward to distinguish the difference between culture and religion, we do hope that there will be a new development where all communities will respect and accept each other's religious beliefs and cultures.

All these whiles, many have to pander to the whims and fancies of certain Malay leaders who weaponised Islam to further their political advancement.

Fair Play: This is not good for Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob. The Selangor sultan has upped the ante by inviting the religious affairs minister to attend the Bon Odori festival in order to understand the difference between religion and culture.

The message is loud and clear to Ismail Sabri. If Idris declines, is he the right person to be the religious affairs minister? - Mkini