KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — Tawfik Ismail’s call for the abolition of the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) carries no weight, lecturer Mohd Ridhuan Tee Abdullah said today when dismissing the former’s bloodline as the son of Tun Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman.

In a scathing column in Malay daily Sinar Harian, the Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (Unisza) lecturer said Tawfik and the G25 of which he is a member of should not be emulated, as their status as former high ranking leaders or the offspring of ex-national leaders do not make them morally superior.

“I hope Muslims will not be fooled... just because that person is a leader, or they have that title or are the descendants of (leaders) means they are good, can be made example of or their opinions respected.

“The saying ‘like father, like son’ does not necessarily hold true. Sometimes the father is righteous but the son turns out to be a scoundrel. The father an Imam and the son a little devil,” Tee said.

Although the preacher did not name Tawfik or G25 in his latest column, he alluded to their statements, notably the former who, in media interviews, openly called for the abolition of Jakim and a return to an era where moral policing was non-existent.

Calling Tawfik and G25 “ignorant”, Tee said their lack of understanding about the role of Jakim and Islam was obvious, accusing them of wanting to restore the time when Muslims had dogs as pets and drank whiskey.

“If you like to have dogs so much you don’t have to encourage others to have them. I am not decreeing that having dogs as pets as haram. But understanding Malay culture, they are quite allergic to this creature so I respect their views,” said Tee, a Chinese who converted to Islam.

He went on to say that Tawfik and G25’s penchant for looking to the openness of Islamic interpretations during the Tunku Abdul Rahman as a sign of progressiveness was “inept”, insisting that time has changed and that it was a necessity for Muslims to conduct moral policing based on the “see no evil, do no evil” doctrine.

“This group had asked why is it during Tunku’s days people drank whiskey or alcohol yet their understanding of Islam remains sound. The question is, do we have to drink alcohol to show how liberal we are?” Tee wrote.

Tee also derided G25’s emphasis on the importance of English, arguing that Arabic was to him more important and said just because most Arab nations are considered failed states, it does not make the Arab language bad.

Tee is among G25’s fiercest critics, accusing the group of a sinister attempt to undermine Malaysia’s Islamic authorities and lobbying for liberal rule.

The G25 professes to a group of pro-moderation former civil servants that was formed out of concern over what it saw as rapid Islamisation of Malaysia by hardliners holding powerful posts in the country’s Islamic agencies.