PRIME Minister Anwar Ibrahim said all quarters must stop indulging in racial polemics as all Malaysians are guaranteed equitable rights and justice.

Referring to the “Imam Nawawi’s 40 Hadith Appreciation” module launched by the Education Ministry on August 19, Anwar said it was only for Muslim students, and that there was no compulsion for non-Muslims to learn the material.

“This subject is only for Muslim children as part of their Islamic education. Ask first instead of getting angry.

“Today I am in Little India, and extremists would say ‘Anwar is looking after Indians only’. When it concerns Malays, including the (module) for Muslim children to study the hadith, they say ‘Anwar only cares for Islam’. Everything I do seems to be wrong,” said Anwar.

He said this when launching the Lestari Niaga@Kuala Lumpur D’Medan Selera Madani Programme at Kompleks Tun Sambanthan today. Also present were Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar and Deputy Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Saraswathy Kandasami.

Anwar said it was his responsibility as a leader to ensure Islam was properly learnt and appreciated.

The module aims to inculcate appreciation of hadith among Muslim schoolchildren and teachers to promote religious understanding.

The pilot programme will be implemented at 61 religious secondary schools and 228 government-aided religious schools.

The Malaysian Consultative Council of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism was one of the critics of the module, claiming it is unconstitutional and violates the right to religious freedom. – Bernama, September 4, 2023.