Keep your 'dakwah' in the peninsula, Sabah party tells Maszlee

Jason Santos Jason Santos Updated 7 years ago · Published on 21 Dec 2018 8:46PM · 15 Comments

Parti Bersatu Sabah secretary-general Jahid Jahim says there is no need for teachers from the peninsula to intrude into the religious space of east Malaysia. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, December 21, 2018.

SABAH and Sarawak do not need “dakwah” (Islamic propagation) on good values as these states have no religious and racial tension, Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS) said, amid growing critique of  Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik.

PBS secretary-general Jahid Jahim said it is the peninsula that needed such efforts, adding that Maszlee should not waste government manpower from the peninsula to intrude into the affairs of east Malaysian states.

“There is no need to intrude on religion (in East Malaysia), he (Maszlee) wants to “berdakwah” (preach), just do it in the peninsular Malaysia,” Jahid, a Muslim, said today.

“Our tolerance level is high, here in Sabah and Sarawak. He is welcome to come and learn our way of living … we will show him we do not need preaching on how to live and accept one another’s religions and beliefs,” Jahid added.

Jahid said Sabahans households had Muslims and Christians living together without any problems.

He said Maszlee should focus on the work “he is supposed to be doing” as education minister.

“Concentrate on how to improve the country’s education standards, such as empowering and further improving and prepare teachers to face a new generation (of students).”

Jahid also said Maszlee should ensure that the education syllabus gave more attention to the history of Malaysia’s formation and the Malaysia Agreement 1963, which set the terms for Sabah and Sarawak, as sovereign states, to form Malaysia with Malaya and Singapore.

“Many young people, including some politicians, are not aware about the birth of our nation,” he said. 
As for schools in Sabah and Sarawak, Jahid said Maszlee should also do something about the dilapidated schools and broken school equipment, lack of textbooks and teaching materials. 

Maszlee has been taken to task by several groups and leaders in Sabah and Sarawak over his recent remark that teachers from the peninsula teaching in east Malaysia make the two states their “medan dakwah” or fronts for Islamic propagation.

After facing flak from church groups and local politicians, Maszlee said what he meant by “dakwah” was the teaching good values and not Islamic propagation. – December 21, 2018.

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Comments

  • Here in the peninsular, even a cross like structure in a building invites protest and is forced to be taken down. You think we like dakwah here?

    Posted 7 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

    • SOME GOOD COMMENTS HERE THAT MASZLEE CAN LEARN FROM?..

      Posted 7 years ago by MELVILLE JAYATHISSA · Reply

  • Mahatir has to rein in his Education Minister. A complete idiot who could drag down PH and cause racial and religious tension. Transfer him out to where there are Muslim Brotherhood University in Middle East. He fits in not in Malaysia. He and the Perlis Mufti together with their bag carrier Mufti from Pahang should buy a one way ticket to Turkey where the Muslim Brotherhood organization are very popular with Erdogan in Turkey as the Caliphate. Anwar might join them if he is no more in contention to be the 8th PM.

    Posted 7 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

  • well said. best move ever by east malaysian.

    Posted 7 years ago by . . · Reply

  • Like Sabahans and Sarawakians, West Malaysians too do not need dakwah (Islamic propagation) on good values, nor religious and racial tensions especially in our schools. Dr Maszlee Malik should focus on delivering excellence in education for all Malaysians, which is what he has been appointed to do and leave race and religion alone..

    Posted 7 years ago by Roger 5201 · Reply

  • Religion in schools to inculcate good values is a TOTAL FAILURE. Dr Mahathir noticed this and told Dr Maszlee so just a few weeks ago. And here we have him wanting to promote Islam aggressively in Sabah and Sarawak. This will only destroy the unity and harmony of the various communities in these states. If the intention is to inculcate good moral and ethical values, bring back the ROTAN to the classroom. Nothing works better than the ROTAN to discipline children. But teach the teachers how to use it correctly so that they do not
    abuse it. Forget that the armchair child rightists in the UN condemn the use of the ROTAN as corporal punishment and child abuse. They have destroyed the discipline of the children all over the world that has discarded the ROTAN to please them.

    Posted 7 years ago by Ravinder Singh · Reply

    • The main problem with teaching religion in schools is that the religion being taught is increasingly extreme yet parents do not have a choice to take their kids out of the kelas agama, especially the working and middle-class parents who are forced send their kids to public schools. Give parents the choice and the right to remove their kids from the official 'kelas agama' if they feel the teaching is not suitable, and you'll immediately see many things change.

      Posted 7 years ago by Anak Kampung · Reply

  • Hear, hear. Too bad Abdul Aziz Isa from DAP retracted his statement on this matter. Hope more East Malaysians will speak up.

    Posted 7 years ago by Anak Kampung · Reply

  • However, I think that the East Malaysian situation (tolerance) cannot last long, as all the structures of the state-religious complex have been progressively imported from the Peninsula since 1963, including Jabatan Agama, syariah courts, lack of freedom to choose one's religion, lack of freedom of parents to decide on the religious education of their children etc. These are some of the key issues East Malaysians must fight on; otherwise, withing 30 years East Malaysia will be just the same as Malaya. Rhetorics like the above may make people feel good in the short term, but in the long term the battle is already lost if EM does not fight for institutional reform and freedom of religion.

    Posted 7 years ago by Anak Kampung · Reply

  • DAKWAH means every Friday go to mosque get together RALLY AGAINST NON MUSLIM.

    Posted 7 years ago by Tharan Singh · Reply

  • When can we have the cabinet reshuffled?

    Posted 7 years ago by Chean Ang Heng · Reply

  • Dakwah = mob rule. Just look at the behaviour of the Muslim mob who wants Waytha to resign as a minister. After worshipping at a mosque which is a place of peace, they came out behaving like bangsats and kurang ajar.

    Posted 7 years ago by Rupert Lum · Reply

  • Often, salam in the mosque, outside tak salam.

    Posted 7 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

    • Like the mob-car case in Johore last year.

      Posted 7 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • Ha! Ha! a minister from Bersatu wishes to educate us on moral values.

    And then his party accepts UMNO frogs!

    Isnt that the height of a joke?

    Posted 7 years ago by Rock Hensem · Reply