PAS MP NIK Muhammad Zawawi Salleh has defended his remarks in the Dewan Rakyat, which drew criticism from church leaders and lawmakers. 

He has asserted that when he stood up in the Dewan Rakyat on August 26, it was to support Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong in his campaign against drink-driving, and not to insult other religions. 

There are already cogent reasons to support the campaign – if only Zawawi had done his homework, other than on comparative religion.

Alcohol is a potent depressant that slows down the body by acting on the central nervous system, affecting both physical and mental functioning. Excessive drinking can cause cognitive impairment, which can affect judgment, memory and reaction time.

Drinking alcohol can affect vehicle drivers in a number of potentially fatal ways:

• it slows down the reaction time – this can be crucial in an emergency situation;
• it dulls the thinking processing making it difficult to multi-task, which is an essential skill necessary for safe driving;
• it reduces attention span – this again can be crucial in an emergency situation; and
• it causes blurred vision and reduced hearing, which reduces one’s ability to drive safely and identify driving hazards.

In short, alcohol impairs one’s ability to control a vehicle, which explains why drink-driving is a major contributor to road fatalities and injuries around the world. Research suggests that at a blood alcohol concentration of a mere 0.05%, the risk of being involved in a road accident is double that of a person who has not been drinking at all.

So, is there safe drink-driving? The short answer is “No”.

This is why there are laws against drink-driving around the world, with stiff penalties involved.

As such, it was unnecessary for Zawawi to dispute the authenticity of religious texts. – September 4, 2020.

* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.