Muhyiddin says ‘fatwa’ speech taken out of context

 

Ex-prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin is now claiming his controversial ‘fatwa’ speech saying it is haram to vote for a Pakatan Harapan candidate was taken out of context.

“There are parties who quoted my speech in Pulai on Sept 2, 2023 out of context.

“They manipulated my speech saying I issued an illegal fatwa to vote for the Harapan candidate in the Pulai by-election,” said Muhyiddin in a statement on Facebook.

“I touched on various issues faced by the people at the moment, especially the burden of the cost of living which the Harapan government failed to deal with properly.

“That is why I called on the voters in the Pulai parliamentary seat not to vote for the Harapan candidate Suhaizan Kayat.

“I did not issue a syariah-compliant fatwa that it is illegal to vote for Harapan candidates,” he said.

He said that as a person who understands religious laws, he cannot arbitrarily issue any religious fatwa.

“There is no intention that it is a fatwa of Islamic law. Because I know that what I mentioned is not a fatwa of Islamic law, I then said ‘someone tomorrow will challenge me to follow which fatwa’.

“Not to mention that in our country, there are certain bodies such as the Fatwa Council that have the authority to issue fatwas after holding discussions with scholars and scientists who are experts in related fields,” said Muhyiddin.

The police said they will question Muhyiddin over his statement that it is “haram” to vote for Harapan’s candidate in the Pulai by-election.

Bukit Aman CID chief Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the police received two reports over the Sept 2 speech and that its classified crimes unit will record Muhyiddin’s statement next Monday (Sept 11).

In today’s post, Muhyiddin said he believed the audience who followed his entire speech during the talk understood what he meant.

“Based on the response of the audience that night, I am sure they did not take my statement seriously as a religious fatwa.

“I believe my speech was taken out of context and manipulated by certain parties to mislead the public,” he said. - Mkini