The Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall issued a statement condemning Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when he witnessed the conversion of an Indian youth, Muhammad Anuar.

The statement came immediately after comments from two notorious Indian personalities also condemning the act surfaced on the social media.

Recently, Hushim Salleh, the Director of the Klang PERKIM branch gave clear clarification on the issue.

In this article, I wish to summarise the accusations of the KLSCAH and others of the actions of Anwar Ibrahim as a Muslim prime minister, summarise the clarification of the whole event, educate Malaysians on the role of Muslims in society, and finally ask whether the KLSCAH has jumped the gun and has acted in a manner that questions the integrity of the PM, the responsibilities of Muslims and the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in this country.

The KLSCAH accused Anwar of acting improperly and inappropriately as the sitting prime minister.

The civil society body has also questioned the commitment of Anwar Ibrahim on the philosophy of Madani that embraces the notion of respecting all faith and cultures.

The third accusation seems to be that Anwar is trying to out-Islamise the opposition’s Islamic narrative by his actions that may make the country’s political situation much worse than it already is.

These are the three heavy and serious accusations that have tremendous repercussion on the coming by-elections and the future general election as well as the cordial relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims in the country.

Now let us clarify the scenario.

When the news broke, I immediately called Anwar’s secretary and asked what had actually happened. Was this some kind of political stunt by his advisors or was this an incidental affair?

The secretary, who is not a Muslim, said as far as he knew, it was unplanned and he showed me the video.

Now, we know that this whole affair was an unplanned event, thus negating the third accusation of the KLSCAH that this was political gimmickry.

As I understand it, the young man was proud to have the sitting prime minister, an icon of Reformasi and Islamic Reformation, to witness his conversion.

Now, I will answer the first two accusations about a Muslim and a PM witnessing a conversion affair.

There are no priests to preside over a witness of conversion, a marriage, a death or in declaring holy war. All are the responsibilities of a Muslim, whether he is a goreng pisang seller or a prime minister.

Firstly, there is no forced conversion as far as we can ascertain. The youth seems to be aware and not coerced in any way. Thus, with his own conviction of Islam, he is already a Muslim.

Next, he would have to have someone as a witness to his conversion so that the community would know, as this would have repercussion of inheritance rules and the rule of preparation for the jenazah or the dead.

The PERKIM affair is necessary as a political administration, as it involves the change of status with regards to affairs of the nation.

So, there you are. The act of witnessing a conversion is a normal act that all Muslims must agree to as it is an obligatory affair.

The youth can come to my house and I myself can be a witness to the conversion.

Now, I wonder what would the KLSCAH say if Anwar was invited to lead the Muslims in Friday prayers at Masjid Negara?

What if Anwar gave a khutbah inside a mosque? Would the KLSCAH then accuse Anwar again as being improper when he is just being a responsible Muslim?

Anwar was seen to be the imam at Salahuddin Ayub’s funerary prayers. Was that improper too?

There are many responsibilities of a Muslim as Islam does not recognise any priesthood concept.

There are no priests to preside over a witness of conversion, a marriage, a death or in declaring holy war. All are the responsibilities of a Muslim, whether he is a goreng pisang seller or a prime minister. Sama saja!

My concern is, why did the KLSCAH not take the time to ask a few Muslims about the conversion issue?

Another question, why did the KLSCAH not get clarification from the PM’s office? Why jump the gun?

Finally, I do not wish to call upon the KLSCAH to apologise to Anwar and Muslims in general for its lack of knowledge, as we Muslims are a forgiving people.

Suffice it for the KLSCAH to explain their actions to the Chinese community and the Malaysian people in general.

This affair should be a lesson to all of us living in a WhatsApp era of 5G “stupidity”.

We let the information get ahead of our sense of respect, dignity and truth.

Read also: Act of ‘witnessing’ a conversion and other responsibilities of a Muslim

(Prof Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor of Architecture at a local university and his writing reflects his own personal opinion entirely.)