Buletin Mutiara does it again, this time, by carrying a footage that seemingly depicts the Chief Minister of Penang as implying that non-Muslim religions in Malaysia are under threat
In the footage, the Chief Minister is seen glorifying the phrase “religions other than Islam,” almost to the point of declaring that non-Muslims are being prevented from observing their religious rites and/or practices
The insinuations were made in a Sikh place of worship despite the DAP’s past claims that mosques were being used to promote Barisan Nasional propaganda
The insinuations threatened to stoke religious tensions at a time the country is preparing to go to the front in what is deemed to be the mother of all elections in Malaysia’s 55 year history
THE THIRD FORCE
Listen to Lim Guan Eng’s speech very carefully (video below), especially from minute 3:00 onwards. You will find that he’s heavily politicising the paid-leave granted to Malaysian Muslims performing the Haj by comparing the number of days they’re getting with what non-Muslims are being allotted to perform their own pilgrimages.
https://www.facebook.com/buletinmutiara/videos/2068007836549989/
Now, I have a couple of bones to pick with the Chief Minister on this issue:
1. First up, is he not aware that no other religion in Malaysia requires its faithful to conduct pilgrimages in the exact same manner Islam does, be it in terms of methods employed, days required, commandments observed or what have you?
2. Next, is the Chief Minister aware that at times, pilgrimages of other religions are more cultural than they are religious?
3. I hereby challenge the Chief Minister to prove me wrong by getting clerics of “non-Muslim religions” to cite relevant texts from the articles of faith they profess, stipulating the exact contexts within which pilgrimages are commanded by their religions.
4. Under the circumstances that the Chief Minister can’t prove me wrong, can he explain who or what gave him the right to compare the number of days Muslims are allotted paid leave to perform the Haj with what non-Muslims are being allotted to perform their own pilgrimages?
5. Why the need to waste taxpayer money on a portfolio for “non-Muslim religions” when neither the Federal Constitution nor the Government of Malaysia (GoM) has ever let non-Muslims down insofar as religious freedom and the right to religious observances are concerned?
6. In the entire speech (see video), the Chief Minister spent far too much time emphasising on “religions other than Islam,” almost as if he was declaring that “religions other than Islam” were under threat.
7. Under the circumstances that the Chief Minister feels “religions other than Islam” are under threat, can he openly declare that threat to be a matter of concern to his administration instead of making veiled insinuations against the GoM and the Federal Constitution?
8. Knowing well that Islam is the official religion of Malaysia, what gave the Chief Minister the right to stoke the anger of Muslims by issuing such statements in a non-Muslim place of worship, particularly the Gurdawara, a place patronised by peace-loving people professing the Sikh religion?
9. In the first place, is it even acceptable for the Chief Minister of a state to make veiled insinuations against the GoM and the Federal Constitution at a place of religious worship?
10. Sikhism was never meant to be a political religion, but one fused with poetic reverence for the greatness of Waheguru, He who the Sikhs refer to as the almighty.
11. Under the circumstances, was the Chief Minister ill advised by Jagdeep Singh Deo of the dos and don’ts in Sikh Gurdwaras, given that the state exco was present at the time the Chief Minister seemed to make the insinuations against the GoM and the Federal Constitution?
