Why divide us now, Patriot asks Perlis mufti

Updated 4 years ago · Published on 22 Aug 2019 10:55AM · 8 Comments

As the 62nd Merdeka approaches, Malaysians should unite, not be divided along racial lines, says a veterans’ association. – EPA pic, August 22, 2019.

THE only way forward for this country is for all Malaysians to unite and lend each other strength without any room for racism or parochial mentality, a veterans’ association said.

The National Patriots Association’s (Patriot) target was Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, who during a recent sermon said “Tanah Melayu is only for the Malays”.

“The last thing we need is for someone to publicly declare that Tanah Melayu is for the Malays,” said Patriot president Brig-Gen (rtd) Mohamed Arshad Raji. 

“Wisdom has escaped Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin when he did just that in a recent video sermon.”

Arshad reminded Asri that Malaysia is for all Malaysians, adding that no one disputed the fact there’s a dominant race in national identity.

“Rather than fanning fire to the already high tempo of socio-religious discourse, he should urge all Malaysians to stay united to face the economic challenges ahead.”

Arshad said by stating that China is for Chinese, India is for Indians, Western countries are for whites and Tanah Melayu is for Malays to make his point, the Perlis mufti has “instigated an unwelcomed mockery that may rip further our fragile inter-ethnic relations, and the peninsula-Sabah and Sarawak distrust”.

He also asked why Asri side-stepped all the scandals that riddled the previous Barisan Nasional administration, which governed for more than 60 years with a near monopoly of a dominant race.

“Scandals were aplenty, from Bank Bumiputra Finance in the 1980s to the mother of all scandals, 1MBD (1Malaysia Development Berhad).

“Yet, Asri said little or nothing at all against the perpetrators of those scandals.”

Asri and all Malaysians should instead be concerned about the nation’s economic health, Arshad said.

“We in Patriot are concerned about our economic situation and how badly our people will be affected in the impending world economic downturn.

“We are facing numerous challenges, many inherited from the previous administration plus new ones. If not handled well, our nation and people will suffer a long period of poverty at best, or lead us to a national break-up and economic chaos.”

It is, therefore, important that all Malaysians, including Asri, to comprehend the new socio-economic-political construct of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s “shared prosperity”, he said.

“He’s setting a clear direction forward,” Arshad said of Dr Mahathir’s address to mark Pakatan Harapan’s first year in power on May 9.

Under the “shared prosperity” concept, the government will, among others, provide a decent standard of living to all Malaysians, to ensure that all people will benefit from the nation’s wealth.

The key to the concept is fairness, equitable, inclusiveness, and justice.

Arshad said with a national debt and liabilities now at RM1.1 trillion, declining gross export, high household debt and cost of living pressure expected to continue for those in the B40 group, there is simply no time for race rhetoric. – August 22, 2019.

Sign up or sign in here to comment.

Comments

  • Asri was not known for ultra racist and religious views UNTIL he was psycho by Zakir. This is a photostat of India where bombings and violence erupted due to ZN instigations

    Posted 4 years ago by S L · Reply

  • Asri is getting panicky lately.

    Posted 4 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply

  • this mufti perlis and perak are loose canons. wonder why their respective boss dont control them. anyway, numb. thank you patriot for being a true malaysian!

    Posted 4 years ago by . . · Reply

  • this mufti perlis and perak are loose canons. wonder why their respective boss dont control them. anyway, numb. thank you patriot for being a true malaysian!

    Posted 4 years ago by . . · Reply

  • Asri's recent statement exposes his immaturity. Just because he has some knowledge about religion doesn't mean he is a matured person. On the contrary, he is acting like a 7-year-old who was not given a piece of cake. When he saw the tide turning against Dr Naik, he immediately threw a hissy fit, rambling on

    about his delusions of grandeur about the Malay race. His typical adolescent reaction, "If I cannot have, no one should" is so obvious. He must either have been a spoilt brat as a youngster or have been the target of school bullies.

    Posted 4 years ago by Simple Sulaiman · Reply

  • That chief ularmak is never known to be a moderate. He's only pretending and make full use of opportunity available to promote his own image and agenda whenever situation suited him.

    Posted 4 years ago by Chee yee ng · Reply

  • Asri Perlis = Zakir Naik malaysia is in a very pathetic state with unwarranted religious bigots preaching HATRED.

    Posted 4 years ago by Mindy Singh · Reply

  • Don't forget that the Perlis Mufti is the No. 1 disciple of Zakir Naik. And don't forget Mufti Asri's racist "lembu" poem inspired by Zakir Naik. It's reproduced below:

    Dr Asris post of his poem is as follows:

    ..apabila yang mempertuhankan lembu bersatu..

    lantas menyeru agar pendakwah kita dibelenggu..

    mahu diserahkan kepada kerajaan zalim menyembah api dan penganut sati..

    pembakar wanita janda..di benua sana..

    ajaran yang mengkastakan manusia..

    sedih, sehingga ada yang dipanggil paria..

    wajarkah manusia diperlakukan demikian rupa..

    betapa menghina insan sesama..

    di sini pula tidak pernah mereka berterima kasih kepada apa yang ada..

    berpakat mereka membuat angkara..

    kita tidak boleh berdiam bahasa..

    toleransi dan kesabaran ada hadnya..

    puisi pagi jumaat..

    Posted 4 years ago by Ravinder Singh · Reply