KUCHING, Jan 28: Abdul Aziz Isa, special officer to Chong Chieng Jen, is offended by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang’s remark suggesting that “ethnic minorities are scheming for political power”.
Describing the remark as ‘grotesque and did not reflect the value of Islam’, Abdul Aziz said it was unbecoming for a person like him to ever come up with such a remark judging from his position as a president of an Islamic political party.
“I take offence with Hadi Awang’s grotesque remark. True Malaysians should too. This doesn’t reflect the value of Islam that the majority of Muslims in Malaysia.
“I believe Malaysians are smart enough to see for themselves the motivation behind Hadi Awang’s statement – to sow division, distrust and disunity so that Malaysians will pit against each other,” he said in a statement today.
Abdul Aziz was commenting on a report published in the MalayMail in which Hadi Awang took aim at ethnic minorities, suggesting that they are scheming for political power and that this was the underlying reason why they were keen to go to the ballots.
Abdul Aziz, who is also DAP Batu Kitang chairman, however, pointed out that Hadi Awang has lost the plot as it can be observed that ordinary folks have shown their solidarity amongst each other while demonstrating distrust against those who run the country with their #KitaJagaKita hashtag.
With many Malaysians able to recite the Rukun Negara by-heart, he emphasised that the preamble of Malaysia national philosophy outlined the ambition of an inclusive, just and equitable Malaysian society.
He reminded that the Rukun Negara philosophy provided:
1. Achieving a more perfect unity amongst the whole of her society (Mencapai perpaduan yang lebih erat dalam kalangan seluruh masyarakatnya);
2. Preserving a democratic way of life (Memelihara cara hidup demokratik);
3. Creating a just society where the prosperity of the country can be enjoyed together in a fair and equitable manner (Mencipta satu masyarakat yang adil di mana kemakmuran negara akan dapat dinikmati secara adil dan saksama);
4. Guaranteeing a liberal approach towards the rich and varied cultural traditions (Menjamin satu cara liberal terhadap tradisi-tradisi kebudayaannya yang kaya dan berbagai corak); and
5. Building a progressive society that will make use of science and modern technology (Membina satu masyarakat progresif yang akan menggunakan sains dan teknologi moden).
“A true Malaysian upholds these ambitions. These are not Western colonialist ideals, nor are they mere words to be regurgitated; these ideals establish our national identity, our shared vision for this nation built upon by Malays, Chinese, Indians, Sarawakians and Sabahans.
“This is our national consensus, instituted by royal proclamation. To suggest otherwise is to undermine our nationally endorsed liberal, democratic and progressive way of life promulgated by the late Tun Abdul Razak,” he slammed.
Meanwhile, according to the news report, Hadi Awang made the allegation as a conclusion to his theory about the growing public disgust of politics, which Hadi Awang claimed was ultimately a result of a deep-seated conspiracy by Western colonialists whose endgame was to sow suspicion towards “Islamic governance”.
As a result, the Malays now lack “self-belief” and were even distrustful of their own faith, the Marang MP added.
This quagmire, he went on to write, had made the ethnic majority weak and allowed other races to chance upon the community whose political awareness was still left wanting compared to the minorities.
“We witness the hatred towards politics happening because they are influenced by demons wearing human masks, which is happening to the Muslims themselves who are used by their own puppet masters,” Hadi Awang said in a Facebook posting published on Jan 26. -DayakDaily
