By Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi

The Kedah Menteri Besar, to me, has committed four serious 'sins' as a Malaysian and also as a Muslim. For the sake of the ruling government Perikatan Nasional, for the sake of Parti Islam SeMalaysia and for the sake of the spirit embodied in our Rukunegara, the Kedah Menteri Besar, Muhammad Sanusi should be replaced by another ADUN. I have purposely left out the Yang Amat Berhormat prefix because he simply does not deserve any respect. The integrity of his party, PAS and that of the partners like Umno and Bersatu hangs with every word coming out of his mouth that display the crudest form of diplomacy that comes out of a person in a serious leadership role in this country.

What are the four 'sins' of the MB of Kedah?

The first 'sin' is the destruction of artifacts considered holy by a group of citizens of this country that fought hard to develop a constitution that respect each other's faith. This means that all Malaysians are equal under the eyes of the constitution that allows them to practice their religion peacefully. The destruction of shrines simply because it violate certain laws that has no implications of serious safety shows a remarkable contempt for the way this country was set up. The MB of Kedah may perhaps be thinking that he has a 'higher authority' in his post as MB or that he is from a religion that has no tolerance for deities in the form of shrines or statues. On both counts, he is wrong. For an ADUN who shows an extremely poor sensitivity to a group of people who wishes to pray and perform their rituals of faith, Sanusi does not have what it takes to pass as a respectable Malaysian. In Islam, the Prophet Muhammad forbade Muslim soldiers to destroy any houses of worship or cause any harm to those who take refuge in them.

The second 'sin' is also unforgivable. He has insinuated that both the MIC and DAP leaders as 'drunks' with such use of words as 'todi' which is alcohol of the lowest quality drunk by wayward street inhabitants. Even if his words may have meant as a metaphor or 'kiasan' in Malay, his choice of references smack of stereotyping that all Indians drink alcohol and gets drunk. Although many Muslims relate alcohol to drunkenness, immoral acts under the influence and as endangering lives, that is still no excuse to accuse two senior politicians and leaders of their community within such a moral construct. Islam forbids Muslims to stereotype people in this manner and also teaches that if you do not know someone well enough, never assume his or her immoral acts that does not appear to you in day light and in a clear manner. Even if someone does immoral acts, Islam forbids the peddling of such information or the use of such information to denigrate the person in any argument. Under our Rukunegara, Sanusi has committed the sin of Kesopanan dan Kesusilaan.

The third 'sin' that Sanusi committed was to associate a Silat building with a holy shrine. He mentions that he was being fair by demolishing a building used for Silat and thus he was justified to treat the Hindu shrine in a similar manner. I cannot for the life of me think that someone would have so little academic competence to associate two diverse objects of a shrine worshiped by faithfuls and an object of Silat that has absolutely no connection with Islam whatsoever. Is Sanusi associating Silat with Islam? I have read over 20,000 hadiths of the Prophet and have not come across the Prophet Muhammad making a statement that Silat is part of the faith. Silat may even predate Islam in the Malay world as with many Malay rituals and culture once upon a time.

The fourth 'sin' of the MB of Kedah is forgetting his 'amanah' as the servant of the people. The MB post does not make him a 'Tuan' or a 'Chieftain' like in the old Malay annals. He should check his readings on Democracy and understand that the post was created by the people, of the people and for the people. The post was not created for any race, religious adherent or any political party It was created to be filled by a person of honesty, integrity and above all…humility. Once the Prophet Muhammad was talking to an important dignitary when an old woman shuffled up to him to voice her life’s concerns thus disrupting the important meeting. The Prophet stopped the meeting, listened to the old woman until she left, and then he resumed the meeting. The Prophet was cordial, understanding and helpful to all people regardless of race, beliefs, gender or social status. Sanusi should learn some aspects of humility and professionalism from the Prophet Muhammad himself.

Therefore, I think all right thinking, humble and tolerant Malaysians have had enough of this MB. If Perikatan Nasional, Umno and PAS wants to lead Malaysia, the MB of Kedah presently is a poor example of a bright future for this nation.

(Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor at a local university.)