Sin Chew Daily

During the debate on the Road Transport (Amendment) Bill 2020 at the Dewan Rakyat last week, PAS's MP for Pasir Puteh Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh said something misleading on Christianity and other religions, arguing that alcohol is banned not only by Islam but also Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism. He even said the Bible had been "distorted or altered".

His remarks have severely hurt the feelings of non-Muslims in the country. Many non-Muslim and Christian/Catholic organizations have urged him to retract his statement and apologize while lodging police reports against him.

Zawawi's own misinterpretation of other religious scriptures has hurt the feelings of non-Muslims in the country and has constituted an act of gross disrespect for the sanctified parliamentary hall by abusing the indemnity he enjoys during a parliamentary debate on an issue unrelated to religion.

The Dewan Rakyat Speaker should have immediately warned him after he made the remarks, or referred him to the Rights and Privileges Committee.

In the past there have been incidents of lawmakers issuing sensitive religious, racist and sexist remarks during parliamentary debates, and often these reps were spared from any disciplinary action, thus emboldening some of the rogue MPs to repeat such irresponsible acts. The Parliament's image will suffer a further setback if no action is eventually taken against Zawawi.

By right the elected representatives should reflect the views of their constituents in the Dewan and professionally participate in legislation of laws for the well-being of the nation instead of squandering the precious debate time on unnecessary squabble or issuing vulgar statements unrelated to the objectives of the discussions.

Meanwhile, Zawawi remains unrepentant despite protests made by more and more Christian organizations, insisting that he made the remarks based on studies by Christianity scholars and that he was stating only the facts, meaning the Christians have been oversensitive.

This shows how arrogant the PAS lawmaker is. Many open-minded Muslims, too, do not agree with him, saying he doesn't understand the Islamic teachings and that his act has failed to let non-Muslims have a better understanding of Islam but has shown his extremist inclination instead.

The Federal Constitution accords Islam the official religion status but at the same time protects religious freedom of people embracing other faiths. Anyone can practice his or her religious faith provided that he or she does not sabotage or interfere in the activities of other religions. Non-Muslim organizations have so far adhered strictly to the rule of not promoting their religions among Muslims.

Malaysians must respect one another's religions and not to willfully misinterpret or vilify the teachings of other religions in our multicultural society. Any act that crosses the line is considered dangerous and detrimental to our religious harmony.

As an elected representative, Zawawi should lead by example and tender a sincere apology to all Malaysians for his own misstep.

We have just celebrated Merdeka a couple of days ago, and this year also happens to be the 50th anniversary of the Rukunegara. Unfortunately during such an important month of the year we have heard over and again unruly remarks made by our politicians which will only tense up intercommunity and inter-religious relationships among Malaysians.

The prime minister cannot afford to overlook all this and should stake out his position in this matter to show that indeed he is a PM for all Malaysians.