KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 22 — Malaysia’s federal Islamic authority should get more than RM1 billion for its 2016 Budget if it is to better combat “extremist” ideologies like the Islamic State (IS), and even liberalism, pluralism and the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, a senator said today.
Datuk Dr Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki who is also deputy minister in charge of Islamic affairs said the RM724.6 million set aside for the Department of Islamic Development (Jakim) next year was not sufficient.
He pointed out that Jakim manages the allowances of more than 30,000 religious teachers and almost 15,000 imams in the country.
“Therefore, we thank those who raised this issue that will hopefully open up the government’s eyes so that they will increase Jakim’s allocation next year to address increasingly critical needs, especially in countering groups who try to deny Islam’s status as the religion of the federation,” Asyraf Wajdi said in a statement on his Facebook page.
“It’s time for the allowances of imams, religious teachers and staff throughout Malaysia to be reviewed for an increase (this year alone, the allocation of allowances for imams and religious teachers amounted close to RM500 million), seeing that their responsibility in safeguarding Islam is even more challenging today with plenty of extremist ideologies that are starting to take root, such as IS, the liberalism ideology and pluralism, including the LGBTs who loosen and degrade religion,” he added.
The deputy minister was responding to a report by news portal The Malaysian Insider today that detailed how Jakim spent its RM819 million allocation this year, based on information from the Treasury’s website.
Jakim’s public relations officer told The Malaysian Insider that Jakim’s financial history and audited accounts were not publicly available.
The religious authorities in Malaysia have long demonised the LGBT community and viewpoints that challenge their conservative interpretations of Islam.
Jakim has been put under the spotlight after Tawfik Ismail, member of G25, a pro-moderation group comprising retired high-ranking civil servants, recently suggested the abolition of the federal agency.
He told The Malaysian Insider that Jakim served no actual purpose beyond interfering in the lives of Muslims.
