KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 18 — Politicians should follow the footsteps of the country’s royal institution in speaking out against extremism, pro-moderation group Centre for a Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) said today.
In a statement, its co-president Gan Ping Sieu said that the royal institution recently displayed wisdom and courage in condemning actions that threatened the country’s multiethnic, multireligious social fabric.
“Political leaders and top government officials should take the cue from the Malaysian royalty which had stepped up to the plate in curbing rising extremism in the country,” he said.
“Such unconventional candour on the part of the royalty also underlies the leadership vacuum that had allowed radicalism to breed in the first place. For a long time, those in power have chosen to tip-toe around touchy subjects than to do and say the right thing,” he added.
Gan said that Cenbet deeply appreciated the rulers stepping in for a job that he should have been done by politicians “in the first place.”
Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar recently publicly condemned a Muslim-only launderette operating in the southern state, and ordered it to reverse its discriminatory policy or face closure.
This move was then criticised by preacher Zamihan Mat Zin during a sermon at a mosque in Selangor, which led to the Johor sultan to order the state religious body to stop dealing with the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim).
Selangor Ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah also stripped Zamihan of his accreditation to preach in the state following the latter’s remarks.
Zamihan’s lectures are now banned in Selangor. He is also being investigated by Jakim and the Selangor Islamic Religious Department for possible misconduct while the police are investigating him for sedition.
