FOR Prime Minister Najib Razak and just like Abdullah Ahmad Badawi before him, “Wasatiyyah” and “Islam Hadhari” are just empty words devoid of meaning.

Wasatiyyah means moderation as Najib mentioned last night, but all around is in Malaysia there is growing evidence that moderation is being pushed to the margins by extremism.

Even when the Muslim-only laundrette  issue happened, the PM took a while before entering the fray. The Johor sultan had to step in first to say discrimination isn’t Islamic.

The politicians, particularly from the ruling Barisan Nasional government, were silent.

Also, preachers and religious figures who promote division are embraced by Putrajaya.

Two come to mind. The Indian preacher on the run from his home country, Dr Zakir Naik, and Zamihan Mat Zin, the preacher leading de-radicalisation efforts on followers of the Islamic State.

Zamihan is no stranger to controversy – and has had his preaching credentials revoked in Johor and Selangor over his support of the Muslim-only laundrette.

He does not have kind words for the PM in the past but remains on the government payroll. 

So what moderation is the PM speaking about when he said it is not only a part of Malaysia’s tradition but a necessity for a country with diverse faiths and ethnicities.

“This is not always easy for everyone. Moderation is not a soft option. It is something that we have to strive to make a part of our lives, an integral part of the way we think about other people and our actions,” he said at the launch of the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF) new website and two publications at the Putra Perdana building yesterday. 

“This is why I have championed moderation as the best path, for moderation is the path of human perfection, an idea that is taught to us by Islam as well as all other religions,” he added. 

Fine sentiments. But actions speak louder than words.

The Najib government must go beyond stating the obvious about moderation and ensure it will stamp out and come down hard on hate speech. That people respect each other, not just tolerate, and speak out against those who make statements, such as rewriting people’s holy books, as is the case with the Malay Bible.

It is inconceivable that such statements are allowed to be aired in a country that speaks so much about moderation. 

And as long as the likes of Naik and Zamihan walk among us, unchastised and unrepentant of their views, the word “wasatiyyah” will remain just that – an Arabic word tossed about for form rather than fulfilling the spirit of it.

The PM needs to walk the talk, rather than just keeping to talk the walk, or Wasatiyyah joins our lexicon as another campaign in a pile of campaigns and another joke in our vault of jokes. – November 18, 2017.