ANWAR Ibrahim’s administration is unable to curb the widening religious polarisation in the country because leaders in government are not prepared to deal with the subject, independent preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin said.

Wan Ji, who has just completed a nine-month jail sentence for insulting Selangor royalty, said the government has no idea how to counter the religious narratives played up by right-wing Islamic groups, especially PAS.

He said Anwar’s government is relying too much on laws, including draconian legislation such as the Sedition Act, to fight extremism.

The 42-year-old said there are other ways to combat the growth of extremism.

“The government relies completely on laws but there are other ways such as education, media awareness, and through governmental religious institutions.

“I can say that the government has failed completely in this matter because no one in Anwar’s cabinet has come up with alternatives other than using laws to fight extremism.

“What has the Education Ministry done? What has the Communication Ministry done? What has the religious affairs ministry done? I have not seen any programmes being introduced,” he said in an interview with The Malaysian Insight.

Last month, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religious Affairs) Mohd Na’im Mokhtar admitted the rise of khawarij and takfiri ideologies in the country has become alarming.

“We are actively monitoring Islamic teachings, conducting lectures and religious classes in public places such as mosques and surau and also on social media, to promote unity and prevent deviation from the teachings of Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jamaah,” he said in the Dewan Rakyat.

Khawarij ideology is the condemnation of any government perceived as “oppressive”, while Takfirism allows casual accusations of apostasy.

Wan Ji lambasted the minister for surveilling lectures and classes.

“If this is his way of thinking, then the government can never win this argument. You are just oppressing the opposition. Monitoring Islamic teaching or lectures is not the way to counter extremist thought. You are just allowing them to grow.

“The minister has to come up with strategies, but so far he has done nothing. The PM himself has invited Muslim scholars to speak but where have they spoken? They spoke at the PM’s home.

“The voters are not there; they are in the rural areas, still listening to their right-wing ustaz,” said the Kelantan-born preacher.

Wan Ji i was a committee member of the Selangor PAS Ulama wing before he left to join PKR.

He was Lim Guan Eng’s Islamic affairs adviser when the latter was the Penang chief minister.

Last September, the Court of Appeal ordered Wan Ji to start serving his prison sentence for insulting the Selangor sultan on Facebook 11 years ago.

A three-man panel led by Hadhariah Syed Ismail had voted to reinstate the Shah Alam Sessions Court’s 2018 decision to sentence Wan Ji to nine months in prison for the offence.

In January, Wan Ji was released from the Kajang prison under the Licensed Release of Prisoners programme, which allows inmates to live out of jail subject to certain conditions.

Shutting down PAS

Wan Ji said Anwar has not been able to come up with a narrative to shut down PAS.

He added that Anwar’s confidants, many of them in Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), have also lost the battle to PAS.

“Fahmi Fadzil as the communication minister has only been oppressing others. Anwar himself has not been able to address the issue. The religious affairs ministry, which has many Abim members, has done nothing. Basically, they are not prepared for this.

“So why are they being given positions in the government? To me, they are just there for ‘ghanimah’ (property seized from the enemy in war). That’s all they want,” said Wan Ji.

Wan Ji said PAS has the same responsibility to stop extreme indoctrination.

He urged PAS leaders to be more responsible in their political speeches.

“PAS is also to blame for the rise of extremism. They need to tone down, not play up racial and religious issues that could cause disharmony.

“When PAS was in the government, we saw that they did not use race and religion but now that they are in the opposition, they use this without thinking about the consequences,” he said.

Wan Ji said he had shared his thoughts with several high-ranking leaders he met after his release.

“I met with some of them. We met and talked about my time in prison. I told them about what I read in prison and that I now have a different perspective after reading those books.

“I gave suggestions and ideas but it is up to them to take them up. I have also met with opposition members who are still friends with me,” he added. – April 30, 2024.