Islam is being threatened, says former chief justice
A former chief justice warned that the position of Islam as the official religion of the federation is under threat in DAP-led Penang, adding that many non-Muslims in Malaysia wanted their own respective religions to be given the same status.
"A former Penang mufti told me that it was hard to get allocations for Islamic activities in the state, as leaders of the other religions also ask for the same rights," Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad (pic) said in a speech obtained from his website.
"The mufti also told me that in an opening ceremony of a building by the deputy chief minister, the prayers were recited by a Christian priest, a Hindu priest and the Imam of the state mosque."
Hamid said he was perplexed as to why certain ulamas could not see the trickery used by the Catholic church, which wanted to use the word Allah in Malay Bibles and in church ceremonies.
"They referred to the usage of the word in the Arab world without analysing the difference. We have to look at the issue in the Malaysian context."
Hamid said this when tabling a working paper titled, "Mempertahankan Perlembagaan Sebagai Asas Perpaduan Nasional" at an Islamic discourse in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The discourse, organised by Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Yadim), was attended by about 200 representatives from various Malay non-governmental organisations, including Perkasa and the Muslim Consumers Association.
He also cited the incident of a surau in a resort in Johor being used by Buddhist tourists for prayers last year, hitting out at "shariah scholars" who defended the resort and said that Prophet Muhammad had also allowed the Christians to worship in the mosque.
"If we allowed devotees of all other religions to worship in mosques, what will happen? Not only will it be stinking of incense, they would also bring in roast pork into the mosques, as during the Hungry Ghost month, giving offerings to ghosts is part of their ritual.
"I am saddened to see Malay Muslims so naive that they are easily used. They would pray and roll on the streets for the non-Muslims' gain."
He warned that if such practices are allowed to go one, it will spread to the whole of Malaysia.
"We will see government departments and public university campuses which have suraus, would also now have to prepare churches, temples and gurdwaras.
"That means the position of Islam as the religion of the federation has no meaning left. That allocation may be abolished or all other religions will also be made the official religions here."
He also said that certain groups, who are unsatisfied that the Constitution does not allow the proselytization of Muslims by non-Muslims, are "going all over the world" to disgrace the name of Islam.
"They go all over the world and smear Islam because Islam does not allow its followers to turn away from the faith, because Islam allows polygamy, because Islam forbids sodomy and others."
He recently courted controversy after claiming that he turned down an offer to join the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) for fear of being branded a "traitor" to the Malays and Islam, a claim which Putrajaya rubbished.
Hamid, who is the head of the National Unity Front, a unity council set up by Malay rights group Perkasa and other Muslim NGOs as a counter to NUCC, said he was asked to join the NUCC but had declined as he feared being used by certain parties, who wanted to cast aside Malay rights and the position of Islam in the country.
Hamid, who was chief justice for one year until October 2008, had also charged that Putrajaya had given the task of drafting the unity bills to the opposition, who had now "taken over" the NUCC.
"I was afraid I would become a 'traitor' to the Malays and Islam."
The political secretary to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Joseph Kurup, Vincent Wong, later said that Hamid was never offered to be on the NUCC panel. – July 22, 2014.
