By Ida Lim
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 ― An Islamic religious scholar declared it “haram (forbidden)” for Muslims to support DAP, according to a front page story today by Umno’s Utusan Malaysia, but added that MCA and MIC were acceptable because the two Barisan Nasional (BN) parties recognised Islam’s pre-eminence.
Abdullah Sa’amah said that Muslims must not vote for DAP and its two allies PAS and PKR in the federal opposition pact of Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in the 13th general election that must be called by April next year.
“DAP’s fight does not accept the country’s (Federal) Constitution, they want equality (for) Islam and non-Islam, temples and mosques (they) also want equality,” Abdullah was quoted as saying by Utusan.
“(It is) compulsory for the Muslims in PAS, Umno, and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to reject DAP that is looking for ways to take power by voting in elections.”
“It is also sinful (berdosa) to support parties that co-operate with DAP because supporting them means we also support DAP because they are one pact (pakatan),” said the founder of the Pondok Geting religious school in Tumpat.
Abdullah told the newspaper that the two main component parties of MCA and MIC in the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition are prepared to accept Islamic rule, and contrasted it with DAP’s stand.
“Instead, DAP doesn’t want, they want equal rights...don’t want Islam to be (in a) high (position), their stand of non-cooperation with Muslims (sifat harbi) is clear when they oppose hudud laws and the creation of an Islamic country.”
Hudud has recently been in the news again, with some members from both Umno and PAS expressing support for the controversial Islamic criminal punishment law.
DAP’s secretary general Lim Guan Eng last month said the party has never supported the implementation of an Islamic state in Malaysia or the imposition of hudud law by PAS.
“I call upon Malays and Muslims in the coming general elections not to support PAS, which still doesn’t want to come out of the opposition pact, vote for Umno and BN so Malays and Islam (syiar Islam) continue to be upheld,” Abdullah was further quoted in the report.
The Malay-Muslim community is the single largest grouping in Malaysia’s population.
A recent survey by independent pollster Merdeka Center had shown that Malay voters’ satisfaction with BN dropped from 65 per cent in May to 58 per cent in June.
The approval ratings for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is also BN president, among the Malay community had dipped from 79 per cent to 75 per cent in the same period.