Anti-Shia campaign is to divert attention from rising cost of living, says Kit Siang’s aide

BY ELIZABETH ZACHARIAH
DECEMBER 14, 2013

Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud reminded the government that there are many foreign students here who are Shias. - The Malaysian Insider pic, December 14, 2013.The campaign against Shia followers is the government's attempt to divert the attention of Malaysians from the rising cost of living, said Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, the political secretary to DAP leader Lim Kit Siang.

In a statement, she pointed out that Putrajaya had started a campaign against Shia followers a day after the announcement of fare hikes for the LRT and monorail services.

"Once more our nation’s attention is diverted with the Shia issue to cover up the high increase in the cost of living for all Malaysians.

"This is due to the withdrawal of the oil and sugar subsidies, increase in electricity tariff, the proposed introduction of GST, hike in assessment rates and increase in LRT and monorail fares," she said.

She was commenting on Datuk Seri Najib Razak's proposal to include the term Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah to the definition of Islam in the Federal Constitution to protect the aqidah (faith) of Muslims in the country.

The prime minister had said that the move was made after consultation with Umno deputy president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and supreme council member on religious affairs Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom following the recent Umno general assembly where delegates had called for the Constitution to be amended.

"Recently, Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had also announced that there were plans to establish a special syariah police force just to combat Shia activities," Dyana noted.

However, she pointed out that the minister could have "forgotten" that Malaysia was hosting many international students, many of whom are Iranians who are Shias.

"This is part of the efforts to internationalise and build good reputation for our local universities and to contribute to the nation’s income through the enrolment of international students and the reduction in currency outflow.

"Thousands of these students openly interact with our local students," she said, adding that there were students who followed the Shia teachings in Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM).

She called on Putrajaya to explain if these students would be asked to quit their studies and leave the country as soon as possible.

"If the government is serious about combating Shia, would the international students who spent a fortune to further their studies in Malaysia – invited by our own government – be asked to quit their studies and leave the country as soon as possible?

"Or will they be instructed to only practise their religion in private so that other Muslims in Malaysia will not be confused?

"As mentioned by the Court of Appeal in the Allah case, Malaysian Muslims are prone to confusion," Dyana said, referring to the Appellate Court's ruling on the Allah issue.

Putrajaya should also explain if the campaign to curb the Shia movement was only applicable for Muslims in Malaysia, she said.

"If the definition of Islam is limited to Muslims in Malaysia, does that mean other Muslims in other countries are not deemed as Muslims in our country?" - December 14, 2013.

Source: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/anti-shia-campaign-is-to-divert-attention-from-rising-cost-of-living-says-k

MAN WITHOUT A CORE: Najib betrays his own Moderates Movement with Sunni Islam call

Thursday, 12 December 2013 10:02
Written by Zairil Khir Johari

Amongst the more ridiculous propositions to emerge from the recently concluded Umno General Assembly was the suggestion that Article 3 of the Federal Constitution should be amended to stipulate that Islam in Malaysia refers to the practice of the Sunnah Wal Jamaah, or Sunni denomination.

Such a move, according to various Umno leaders including party Vice-President and Home Minister Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, was necessary in order to “protect the sanctity of the teaching of Sunnah wal Jamaah and to stop the spread of other teachings in the country.”

This suggestion comes hot on the heels of the Home Minister’s vilification of the Shia sect as a deviant ideology, while attempting to link Pas leaders, in particular party Deputy President Mat Sabu, as Shia followers.

Most incredibly, this call was met favourably by Umno President Dato’ Sri Najib Razak who, in his closing speech, promised that the party constitution would be amended to define Islam as that of the Sunni denomination. Although the Prime Minister did not go so far as to agree to amend the Federal Constitution, he certainly did not rule it out when asked.

A voice of sanity (but for how long?)

Thankfully, a voice of sanity has emerged in the form of former Umno Supreme Council member and now Chief Executive Officer of the Global Movement of Moderates, Dato’ Saifuddin Abdullah, who appears to have broken ranks with his party colleagues.

In a press conference recently, Dato’ Saifuddin said that “there is no need to amend the Federal Constitution to specify Islam as the Sunni denomination” as “it is sufficient that the Federal Constitution already plainly states Islam as the religion of the federation.”

Dato’ Saifuddin also expressed concern that attempts to define Islam in the constitution in such a specific manner would not be inclusive, and that he did not believe in the “holier-than-thou approach” in handling this issue that he deems to be “exaggerated.”

Najib’s false moderation

In 2010, Najib spearheaded the formation of the Global Movement of Moderates (GMM) by calling upon “members and leaders of the world's major faiths to censure and reject their own extremists.”

However, far from practising what he preaches, Najib’s own government has consistently submitted to the demands of the very extremists he is asking the world to reject.

Following on from the “kalimah Allah” controversy which has made Malaysia a laughing stock not only amongst Western nations but also in the Muslim world, the Government’s latest attempt to cast limitations on the definition of Islam is a palpable mockery of the religion.

Moreover, the zeal with which the Government is pursuing the persecution of Muslim minorities such as the Shia goes against the very grain of moderation or inclusiveness. In fact, it even contradicts the charter of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which affirms the need “to foster noble Islamic values concerning moderation, tolerance, respect for diversity,” as well as “to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

It is clear that Najib has betrayed the very movement which he started, and that the GMM is now nothing more than a false façade that belies the extremist, bigoted and narrow-minded tendencies of the Barisan Nasional Government.

Zairil Khir Johari

Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera

Source: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=199691:man-without-a-core-najib-betrays-his-own-moderates-movement-with-sunni-islam-call&Itemid=2#axzz2nEC7OuJ2