Perak Mufti Harussani Zakaria has said that Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy should be banished from the country for calling preacher Dr Zakir Naik “satan”.
He was quoted by Sinar Harian as saying that Ramasamy’s remark showed that he also did not respect the Federal Constitution, which stipulates Islam as the official religion.
“To me, what Ramasamy did was rude. As a politician and a leader, Ramasamy should understand the Constitution. If he doesn’t, he should be banished from the country,” Harussani was also quoted.
Harussani’s call is wrong, unfair and unnecessary.
Harussani should first be reminded that Ramasamy had apologized for using the remark.
Secondly, Harussani should know what is Ramasamy’s true stand on the invitation extended to Zakir Naik.
Ramasamy’s concern is about the religious harmony in the country and what he is against is the comparisons between religions and any religious speech that can stir up religious tensions in our multi religious nation.
So his stand is not wrong and is certainly not an insult to Islam as alleged by Harussani.
Harussani should also learn more about Malaysia’s constitution. I totally agree with my DAP colleague Shamsher Singh Thind, a law lecturer, when he rebutted Harussani that no Malaysian can be banished or excluded from the country as citizenship is a right enshrined in the Federal Constitution as Article 9(1) of the Constitution provides an absolute right that “no citizen shall be banished or excluded from the country”.
I also wish to call on Harrunssani to look at the issue from the context of Malaysia being a plural society and to give his serious thought to what the Tourism and Culture Minister has said on inviting Zakir Naik to speak in Malaysia.
Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz has questioned the need to invite Dr Zakir Naik to give talks noting that Malaysians have their own Islamic scholars to refer to.
Nazri was quoted as saying that while those who attended Dr Zakir’s speeches describedthem as being mild, it should be no surprise that those of other faiths would not feel the same.
He also said the following :
“I think if you want to talk about religion, then just talk about your own.
“When making comparisons between religions, you are bound to conclude that your religion is better”.
“ It was not a question of freedom of speech but of ensuring that Malaysians were not being unnecessarily divided by someone who has no ties to Malaysia”.
I applaud Datuk Seri Nazri for his most rational and sensible comments and hope that hisviews will be given the serious consideration by all parties concerned.