In an article written by a former high-ranking civil servant who is a Christian and a non-Malay, entitled ‘Malaysia Madani: criminalising the trivial and trivialising the criminal’, the author made the suggestion that the Madani government uses a form of selective prosecution.

To support his allegation, the author quotes several issues related to Islam of which the perpetrators were immediately prosecuted while the likes of Tun M and Hadi Awang who have made, to him, worse actions than those still not prosecuted.

The author concludes that regardless of anyone making a wrongdoing, the principles of justice must be fair to all regardless of the personalities of the perpetrators.

In this article, I agree in principle about justice for all regardless, but in practice, wisdom and strategic calculation of preserving harmony must take first place…always, or else lives may be lost.

Who, then, will answer for these lives like the ones on May 13? This, the author failed to be sensitive towards.

Firstly, I would like to take issue of the author who seems to ‘trivialise’ Islamic issues.

When I deliver my public talks on Malaysian politics, I always remind the audience that all Islamic issues must never be trivialised.

Whether it is about alcohol, concert, LGBT and halal or haram, the foundation of our nation requires us to respect the values of each culture and faith.

I would also like to advise non-Muslims in the country to not make rash statements about any Islamic issue without prior consultation to groups of concerned Muslims.

Yes, in a democracy you are free to make your own statement, but would it not be better to have the whole picture and context to be taken up before jumping into a sensational statement?

After almost 70 years of Merdeka, we have not learned this simple rule.

Finally, I have always maintained that any Islamic issue should be left to Muslims to answer, not Christians, Hindus or any other non-Muslims seeking popularity and political points.

For any Islamic issue, we have many muftis, truckloads of professors of Islam, minister of religion and public intellectuals for non-Muslims to ask before criticising whether the government is fair or unfair.

If we fail to do such a simple academic action or such a simple courtesy, then we do not deserve a peaceful and harmonious Malaysia.

Secondly, I wish to ask Malaysians to recall the Memali incident in 1985.

The prime minister then was Tun Mahathir, and the deputy PM was Musa Hitam.

The police had decided to lay siege to a village of 400 supporters of Ibrahim Libya, a member of PAS and a radical preacher of Islam.

That decision to take action by force resulted in the death of 14 villagers and four policemen.

Although I am not in the security force nor do I have inner knowledge of government, unlike the author who was a high-ranking government officer, I assume that the police should take into consideration the strength of the influence of the arrest on any individual.

A personality like Hadi Awang, I know as I was once an active PAS member, commands radicalised members who would literally die for him and what they perceive as jihad in Islam.

I remember the Memali incident when speakers from PAS went to the United States where I was studying, to declare Ibrahim Libya and the dead supporters as martyrs of Islam.

Now, 1985 was a time without the internet and WhatsApp. Imagine what would happen in this digital age of fast communication the arrest of someone like Hadi Awang.

I can still recall freshly the memory of one election when the BN was about to lose Terengganu to PAS, I had received an SMS saying that Hadi Awang was arrested and detained by the police.

Many PAS supporters in Johor, where I lived then, were angry and agitated but I asked to verify the information.

When I called Dr. Hatta Ramli, he said he had received no credible information about the arrest and he suspected that this was the work of agents provocateurs to ensure a riot and a declaration that the election in Terengganu was void.

The best way to deal with Tun M and Hadi is to counter their history and religious narratives, not to use prison or arrest.

To me, arresting these individuals will backfire on Malaysians and cause possible civil unrest. Thus, arresting ‘anybody’ with principle must take into account individuals who are very BIG somebodies, like Hadi and Ibrahim Libya.

The author should organise a civil forum in Bahasa Malaysia and invite Tun M and Hadi Awang to proclaim their Deklarasi Melayu or Islamic State idea.

Engage in a meaningful dialogue instead of writing from the safety of Facebook or populist media. The exchange must be moderated with adab and not let it be a pasar malam time of verbal abuse and rude languages.

Malaysia is NOT America and we shall never be, thank God. We are who we are, and we must make democracy into our own valued practice with wisdom, patience and acceptance.

Thus, dear Malaysians, we live in dangerous times. More dangerous than any other times that I can recall from memory.

I applaud writers and commentators like these good Malaysians who are Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and others, and I even support them in wanting a new Malaysia.

But we must ask ourselves, at what cost are we willing to pay for this quick reform when we pander opinions without considering what would happen in the future for our children and grandchildren.

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