KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — Liberal Malays are now out to destroy Islam in Malaysia, Perkasa warned today, singling out the group of 25 former civil servants and influential leaders who recently penned an open letter questioning Islamic laws and the religious authorities.
In dismissing the contents of the open letter, Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali said the views of the 25 individuals do not represent the majority of Malays in the country.
“In 2015 we will be haunted by issues involving Islam’s defence. Malay liberals have now replaced those who want to destroy Islam,” Ibrahim said during his speech at the opening of Perkasa’s annual assembly here.
“So-called 25 eminent malays. I am also eminent.
“(The 25) say they do not represent Perkasa and Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia. Since when have we said we represented them? Perkasa has almost 700,000 members,” he added.
Ibrahim questioned why the 25 ex-top civil servants did not dare to question real extremists such as Hindu rights group Hindraf, DAP and Christians who challenged Islam.
“Let them talk, they can talk, ‘haramjadah’,” the Perkasa leader said, referring to the 25.
In a previous comment on the matter, Perkasa demanded to know what the 25 individuals had done to help their race during their years of service.
The Malay rights group had also pointed out that unlike the 25, Perkasa speaks for its over half a million Bumiputera members, among which 90 per cent are Malay and Muslim.
In the open letter posted on Malay Mail Online’s website last Monday, 25 Malays, consisting of mostly former top civil servants stressed that any law enacted, including Islamic laws, cannot violate the Federal Constitution, especially its provisions on fundamental liberties, federal-state division of powers and legislative procedures.
The group also highlighted the lack of public awareness on the legal jurisdiction and limits of the religious authorities’ powers and administration of Islamic laws in Malaysia, insisting that all Acts, Enactments, and even fatwa (religious edicts) are bound by the Federal Constitution and are open to judicial review.
The group listed down five pressing issues to be dealt with by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the first being the areas of conflict and overlap between civil and Shariah laws, insisting that the laws on Shariah Criminal Offences must especially be reviewed after a Cabinet directive in 1999 to do so was ignored.
But Perkasa, a strong Malay-Muslim rights advocate that has often warned against liberalism and pluralism creeping into Malaysia’s brand of Islam, insisted that the voices of the 25 individuals may not represent the majority of Malays here.
