Don’t Want Liberalism, Tear Up The Constitution – Another Malicious Distortion Of The Truth From TMI

In the above article, The Malaysian Insider (TMI) reported that Professor Ebrahim E. I. Moosa who is a South African, made a statement that “Malaysia was a pluralistic and liberal country”.

He made that statement in reply to a question from the audience regarding the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom’s statement, “the teachings of liberalism and pluralism are seen as among the most prevalent forms of insult to Islam”.

TMI wrote that:

“The very idea that Malaysia has accepted, constitutionally or otherwise, the plurality of religious and ethnic communities… it is already on the way to liberalism. You are already on a certain kind of liberalism. It might not be an optimal one, but it is already there” – TMI.

I do not know whether Professor Ebrahim understands the words liberalism and pluralism that were mentioned by Datuk Seri Jamil Khir.

Malaysia does accept “the plurality of religious and ethnic communities” but that does not makes Malaysia “a pluralistic and liberal country”; furthermore Malaysia does not accept pluralism of religion.

“The very idea that Malaysia has accepted the plurality of religious and ethnic communities”, shows that our Rulers, the government and the Malays respect other religions and ethnic communities as how Islam teaches us.

But that does not make us liberal.

Professor Ebrahim E. I. Moosaalso also said,

“If you want to get away from liberalism, you need to tear up the Malaysian constitution”  Professor Ebrahim E. I. Moosa – TMI.

Tear up the Malaysian Constitution if we do not want liberalism?

I do not know if Professor Ebrahim knows what is he talking about, if he thinks he does, he must be so confused or he must has read the constitution of another country!

And this is a malicious distortion of the truth because as an Islamic country, Malaysia does not accept liberalism because it is against the teaching of Islam.

And there is no such word as ‘liberalism’ in our Federal Constitution.

Article 3(1) of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia says:

Islam is the religion of the Federation; but other religions may
be practiced in peace and harmony in any part of the Federation.

… and we have Article 11(4) to protect the religion of the Federation:

State law and in respect of the Federal Territories of Kuala
Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, federal law may control or restrict
the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among persons
professing the religion of Islam.

Islam is the only religion mentioned in the Federal Constitution, and Islam is protected by the Federal Constitution and the state laws.

In fact as the religion of the Federation, Islam is above other religions in Malaysian; which is against the idea of liberalism that rejects state religion.

Moreover, Article 121(1A) of the Federal Constitution recognises the Syariah Court.

Now, if the professor does not understand what is liberalism and pluralism, he should ask somebody.

Liberalism is all about total freedom and pluralism is saying that one’s religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus the acknowledgement that at least some truths and true values exist in other religions.

When TMI wrote that, the professor said that, “Malaysia was a pluralistic and liberal country”, I wonder if the word “was” is a typo or he used the word, “was” to indicate that Malaysia was once a pluralistic and liberal country but not anymore.

For the record, Malaysia is neither was nor is a pluralistic and liberal country.

History tells us that Malaysia is always an Islamic country even before our independence.

Actually the existing Islamic laws before Merdeka Day are still valid according to Article 162 of the Federal Constitution which says:

Subject to the following provisions of this Article and Article 163*, the existing laws shall, until repealed by the authority having power to do so under this Constitution, continue in force on and after Merdeka Day, with such modifications as may be made therein under this Article and subject to any amendments made by federal or State law.

So Malaysia can’t be plural or liberal if it still has Islamic laws.

The professor also told us to learn history:

“The first thing to be done, to the many spokespersons who are saying these things, is a quick lesson in Malaysian history… Malaysian history 101… to re-familiarise themselves” -TMI.

Actually the person who needs to learn history is him and most of those who supported the above TMI article!

And above all, since he is not a Malaysian and since he just came to Malaysia, he should not interfere in local issues that he knows nothing about.

He might want to say that as a scholar, he should know better about our Federal Constitution than others including our Federal Constitution experts like Dato’ Naser Disa and Professor Shamrahayu.

But, has he ever read the Federal Constitution and does he know that it takes a lawyer to interpret law and constitution?

I hope that the government can take stern actions on those who make such a malicious distortion of the truth regarding the Federal Constitution of Malaysia including foreigners because our Federal Constitution is the highest law and something like the pillar of our country.

Those ‘scholars’ are bringing bad influences as they being used by certain groups to influence the public into believing something which are fictitious to serve their hidden agendas and can cause racial and religious disharmony among the people.

And these so called “Muslim scholars” are spreading the ideologies of liberalism and pluralism as the teaching of Islam when these ideologies are actually part of deviant teaching.

TMI’s “On Religious Authorities” – A Malicious Distortion Of The Truth

I find the above article from The Malaysian Insider (TMI) as unjustly written, full of lies and using wrong arguments and analogies to wrongly accuse the Islamic religious authorities and the Malaysian government.

It is a malicious distortion of the truth.

Below are my answers to the writer’s statements, TMI’s text is in blue and my answer will be in red.

It seems that whenever we question anything, either the government or those linked to it does, it is seen as a bad thing. And this comes during a period of a prime minister whose initial speech said “the era of government knows best is over”.

So, why is questioning a fatwa a big issue? It is truly not.

A: Official fatwas are Muslim’s guidelines. We are Muslims of Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah. People cannot interpret Islam as they wish, the way they want it to be like the liberals do. I think it is the same for other religions.

Even if we look at the most conservative nations practising Islam, there are landmark changes globally. Iran allows sex reassignment surgeries for their transgender community. However warped their mindset may be, it is clearly different than Malaysians who recently heckled the courts for upholding the constitution.

A: Iran is one of an example of “the most conservative nations practising Islam”? He must be kidding because Iran is not an Islamic country but it is a Syiah country. There are big differences in important matters like akidah between us, the Ahli Sunnah Wal Jamaah and Syiah followers. The rules of Syiah is against our akidah.

In Saudi Arabia, the authorities are now mulling over giving women the right to drive cars, a fatwa which is decades’ old and has only been vocally challenged in the last five years.
We have seen Muslim-majority countries that are moving forward in issuing religious edicts or limiting the viability of such rules and regulations to allow moving ahead together as a nation.

A: Driving has nothing to do with akidah, unlike LGBT. Malaysia never ban women from driving. Women are free to drive buses, lorries or even to become commercial pilots. 

And yet in Malaysia, we continue to limit the general public and civil stakeholders from venturing an opinion without being heckled, or in the case of Sisters in Islam, having a fatwa quietly gazetted banning them.

Sisters in Islam (SIS) leaders are liberal activists. Liberalism is against Islam. They tell people that they understand Islam better than our Muslim scholars and Muftis but they do not follow even the basic rules like to cover their aurat. They do not respect Islamic rules and want liberal rules to be accepted as Islamic rules.

It is truly nonsensical that in this day and age when other nations are talking about matters which are truly important such as poverty eradication, the lack of knowledgeable human resource, and pushing for better public transport – we are stuck discussing, and even going so far as to file police reports, a tourist attraction dedicated to a Hindu deity placed on a bottle of water next to a “Halal” logo.

A: Islam is the religion of the Federation of Malaysia, so in Malaysia everybody must respect Islam. The halal logo was placed at a lower part of the mineral water bottle than the Batu Caves picture. In our custom, that shows disrespect to the religion of the Federation. I guess in Vatican City, they also have rules to respect Christianity more than other religions suitable to their customs that people over there must respect.

The Malaysian government has done much more than solving the problems of “poverty eradication, the lack of knowledgeable human resource, and pushing for better public transport”. But there are people who are never thankful and only look for ways to complain and cause troubles to the country to put down the government.

Even worse: we have Malaysian Muslims who think cross-dressers are a threat to society by promoting a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT, if you still don’t know what that is) lifestyle.

A: LGBT is against Islam and so are cross-dressers. Malaysia does not sign the SOGI rights.

Permit me to point out that a guy in a dress has nothing to do with their sexual orientation, especially when Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden chose to wear a burqa to escape their hunters.

Would you accuse them of being sodomites, too?

A: Will a man who is not LGBT supporter wants to look like a woman and wear a dress in public without any purpose?

re: “Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden chose to wear burqa to escape their hunters”.

There is a huge difference between men wearing women’s clothes to escape from danger or to save their lives or for other important reasons like investigating a certain case compared to men who always wear them including in public because they like and proud of wearing them, saying that they have the rights to do so.

Fatwas should be up for question because while the religion stays true, its followers evolve. There was once a limited source of knowledge specific to Islam from muftis and imams, and perhaps PAS for the more politically inclined.

A: We cannot change a religion, changing means liberalising and that is against Islam. To question a fatwa a person must be at least as knowledgeable as the members of the fatwa council on Islamic matters. PAS is not an Islamic party because like SIS they only use the word Islam for their own agendas. 

However, with the advent of the Internet, anything and everything about Islam and other religions can be found online. Intellectual debates can be seen on YouTube as raging, trolling debates rage on news portals and social media aplenty.

A: We can find lots of things from the internet including lies like this article from TMI. How can a person who does not understand a subject take part in intellectual debates on the subject or be a judge on problems regarding the subject?

Malaysian Muslims can not only listen to the lectures of Azhar Idrus, but can also go as far the BBC to see debates of Islam versus Science.

A: Yes, I agree that we must not listen to Azhar Idrus and his ‘fatwas’. I wrote about one of them: Ustaz Azhar Idrus: “Islam Dan Kristian Bertuhankan Allah?”

The internet sparked a revolution of information being streamed, “torrented” and read online without control, allowing Malaysian Muslims to seek counsel outside the boundaries, and this is what has made our religious authorities very nervous to the point of stupidity.

A:  It is the main duty for our religious authorities to protect the akidah of the Muslims in Malaysia. Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitutions gives the rights for the states in Malaysia to have state laws to control or restrict the propagation of any religious doctrine or belief among Muslims. Prevention is better than cure.

What was once a monopoly of information by the religious authorities is now apparently threatened by Malay-language Bibles and Irshad Manji books. Not Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Ann Coulter, Bill Maher, Richard Dawkins, whose books are widely available and for everyone to read and buy either online or at a local bookshop.

A: The religious authorities are not threatened by the Malay bibles or Irshad Manji books. They are only doing their duty because any bible that calls the Christian god as Allah is against most of the states’ laws in Malaysia. Irshad Manji books are about deviant teaching but she claims them as the true teaching of Islam. Promoting deviant teachings to Muslim is against the law of Malaysia. All countries have laws to protect their constitutions and people.

They have lost control over the access to information; so clinging to this moral authority has resulted in stupidity beyond measure. Instead of opening issues for debate, our government-led religious authorities have instead decided it is better to outlaw those who talk back.

A: Religious authorities have lots of other more important things to do to benefit the Muslims. 

Never since the schism of the Christians by Martin Luther, creating the Catholics and Lutheran churches and subsequently the Protestant denomination, has any religious authority done something so despicable.

Questions lead to enlightenment. The ability to debate and discuss everything – even faith – is a must. While this is definitely encouraged, what matters is also how such affairs are debated.

A: A rule is not made to be broken even if one does not like it. In Islam not everything can be debated and denying Allah’s rules affect our akidah and cause a person to be a murtad or an apostate.

It is one thing to say our religious authorities are out of sync with the rest of the world, but it is totally another for us to blame it on the religion itself.

Tact, respect and even the ability to access information are a necessity in order to discuss these issues intellectually and with a level head. Personally, Islam should not be limited for discussion among Muslims because it has now become a national issue.

A: Muslim authorities in Malaysia do not interfere with people of other religions unless people of other religions slander, humiliate, interfere in Islamic matters or other similar things in order to protect Islam and the Muslims.

When you steal the bodies of the deceased, kidnap kids from parents, stop people from getting married on their wedding day, confiscate Bibles or even raid bookstores and take managers to court, I am pretty sure you are affecting the lives of non-Muslims as well.

A: These are lies and the writer spins the facts of the cases to unjustly accuse the Muslim authorities. 

So, religious authorities have affected not only national unity, but have created a schism in national unity and harmony that will not be resolved easily. – November 18, 2014.

A: People like the writer who write and spread lies are the ones that “have affected not only national unity, but have created a schism in national unity”.

TMI Suruh Khalid Derhaka Kepada Sultan?

Above is an article by The Malaysian Insider (TMI):

It wrote:

“All signs point to the fact that Khalid has lost his job. That he should go. He should inform the state ruler of that immediately and not wait to seek an audience. Why should Selangor suffer a week or two more with a menteri besar in name but without any support?” – TMI

Malaysian Insider is forcing Tan Sri Khalid should quit immediately without royal audience and accusing Tan Sri Khalid as:

“But why wait for the sultan to decide his fate? Why hide with palace protocol?” – TMI

Is TMI trying to accused Tan Sri Khalid as being power crazy and forcing Tan Sri Khalid to go against the Sultan’s orders?

Selangor MB, Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim had tried to seek an audience with the Sultan who is overseas at the moment to inform the Sultan about what is happening and to seek for the Sultan’s advice.

But the Sultan of Selangor told Khalid to wait until he comes back, and that is why Tan Sri Khalid is still the MB of Selangor; because the Sultan says so.

What ever Tan Sri Khalid wants to do next, he must first seek an audience with the Sultan.

He obeys the Sultan’s orders and is not trying to force the Sultan like what Anwar Ibrahim, his gang and some of TMI’s commentators are doing – forcing the Sultan of Selangor to accept Wan Azizah because Anwar wants his wife to be the MB.

Remember that Tan Sri Khalid gave his pledge on 10 Aku Janji or undertakings and he is keeping his words.

After all these jokes started by Anwar’s Kajang Move, I now admire and respect Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim.

 

Video Ahli PKR Hilang Sabar, Nasib Baik Tak Ada Kerusi Merah

A section of the floor supporters of Selangor MB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, who was sacked as PKR member yesterday, hold pro-Khalid placards, at a forum held by a youth group, last night. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Hasnoor Hussain, August 10, 2014. 

Forum Krisis Selangor: Khalid Ibrahim Belot Pakatan semalam kecoh bila penyokong Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim bangun mengkritik KETUM PKR Anwar Ibrahim.

Nasib baik tiada kerusi merah, kalau tidak mungkin keadaan boleh menjadi lebih ganas.

The Malaysian Insider Caught Lying

Credit to Cucu Tok Selampit.

The Malaysian Insider (TMI) did it again!

TMI reported that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib broke his promise to attend the wedding of ex-Terengganu MB.

But please look at the photo below:

PM Najib attending the wedding of the daughter of ex-MB of Terengganu. Credit to Cucu Tok Selampit.

So, TMI was caught spinning stories again.

And the best part is, TMI has deleted the post!

Bekas Mufti Hina Pembela Islam?

Click image for the article

“Islam tidak ditindas di Malaysia dan kumpulan pendesak Islam yang berterusan memberi amaran tentang usaha Kristianisasi di negara ini hanya memalukan agama,” kata Prof Madya Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Asri Zainul Abidin – The Malaysian Insider (TMI).

Saya terkejut bila TMI melapurkan bekas Mufti Perlis ini juga berkata:

“Saya nak ingatkan orang Islam. Janganlah terkejut kalau ada orang yang mengajak masuk Kristian. Sudah tentu pemimpin agama akan berasa agama dia betul dan mengajak orang lain masuk agamanya” – TMI.

Apakah dakyah begini tidak salah mengikut pendapat bekas Mufti Perlis ini?

Please click image for the article.

Adakah bekas Mufti Perlis ini tidak pernah tahu mengenai Perkara 11(4) Perlembagaan Persekutuan?

Undang-undang Negeri dan berkenaan dengan Wilayah-Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Labuan dan Putrajaya, undang-undang persekutuan boleh mengawal atau menyekat pengembangan apa-apa doktrin atau kepercayaan agama di kalangan orang yang menganuti agama Islam.

Bekas Mufti Perlis ini terlalu sibuk membela agama lain sampaikan tidak nampak apa yang berlaku.

Asri berkata dalam keadaan hari ini tiada apa yang perlu dibimbangkan kerana penganut agama lain tidak melancarkan serangan untuk memusnahkan Islam – TMI.

TMI juga melapurkan, “Asri menyelar NGO Muslim yang tampil secara ekstremis melindungi Islam.”

Nampaknya bekas Mufti Perlis yang tidak tahu mengenai Perkara 11(4) Perlembagaan Persekutuan ini tidak suka kepada NGO Islam yang bekerja keras mempertahankan akidah umat Islam di Malaysia.

“Janganlah kita berlebih sangat. Ada NGO tertentu yang nak promosi NGO mereka, berlebihan sangat – TMI.

Saya kasihan kepada bekas Mufti Perlis ini kerana telah memperbodohkan diri sendiri sampaikan tidak faham Perkara 11(4) Perlembagaan Persekutuan dan tidak tahu keadaan semasa.

Bekas Mufti Perlis ini juga terlalu sibuk membela orang Kristian sampai sanggup menghina orang lain yang mahu membela orang Islam.

Soalnya bagaimana bekas Mufti Perlis ini boleh mengulas Seminar Kalimah Allah dan Kristologi bila beliau sendiri tidak menghadiri seminar tersebut?

Nampaknya bekas Mufti Perlis ini bercakap seperti Mujahid Yusof Rawa menghina aktivis Islam.

Saya tidak faham bagaimana beliau boleh dilantik sebagai Mufti Perlis kerana bekas Mufti Perlis ini tidak layak menjadi pemimpin Islam.

Agaknya apakah bekas Mufti Perlis ini menyokong kata-kata Nurul Izzah bahawa orang Melayu patut diberi peluang untuk memilih agama mereka?

Attack On Nuns: TMI, Please Do Not Instigate Hatred

The Malaysian Insider (TMI) wrote a lot of articles about the robbery at the Church of Visitation in Seremban.

Click image for the article.

In the above article, TMI reported as if the incident was not a robbery but it was a hate crime by an extremist because of religious differences.

TMI published hatred words of slander toward others, especially the Muslims and the government.

TMI reader PNL wrote: NUNS do not carry expensive handbags or wear jewellery!!!!!!!! Just what can the coward robber hoped to get from these nuns????????  This is really getting out of hand!!!!!  Besides we have NEVER heard of nuns getting robbed!!!!!!
“What was there to rob from a nun? A prayer rosary?” asked Harjim.
“Looks like a setup by some religious extremist to make it look like robbery but was in fact religious hatred and intolerance,” said BolehBoleh – TMI (Attack on nuns: Was it a robbery or hate crime, ask netizens).

Click image for the article.

Anyway, in the above article TMI reported that two nuns who were in ordinary clothes and not dressed as nuns!

The two victims, from the Infant Jesus Order, were dressed in ordinary clothes, instead of their habits – TMI (Attack on nuns not a hate crime, say police).

And as it was dark at the time, the robbers may not know that they are nuns.

So, how were they so sure that it was a hate crime if the robbers did not even know that the victims were nuns as they were dressed in ordinary clothes?

Click image for the article.

In this article, TMI reported that:

Snatch thefts and wayside robberies are almost weekly occurrences around the Church of the Visitation in Seremban, where two nuns were viciously attacked early yesterday morning –  TMI (Area near Seremban church a crime hotspot, says parishioner).

So, the area lots of snatch thefts and wayside robberies in the area by ” people on motorcycles, wearing full-faced helmets,” as reported by TMI in the above articles.

TMI, please do not instigate hatred and do not give people wild ideas to blame others.

This shows how TMI’s own reports contradict and how TMI tried hard to instigate hatred towards their enemies.

Related Post:

1. Kenapa Malaysian Insider Marah Buku MAIS, “Pendedahan Agenda Kristian”?

Kenapa Malaysian Insider Marah Buku MAIS, “Pendedahan Agenda Kristian”?

The Malaysian Insider (TMI) made a big issue about MAIS’s new book entitled, “Pendedahan Agenda Kristian”.

Click image for the article

I wonder what is TMI’s intention in highlighting the issue?

From the articles written by TMI about the ‘Seminar Kristiologi Dan Mempertahankan Kalimah Allah’, I do not think that TMI is trying to promote the book.

Has TMI being fair in their reporting or did they have hidden agenda?

And after reading the comments written by TMI’s readers, I guess TMI did a good job if their intention is to spew hatred towards MAIS, UITM, PDRM, the Muslims and the government.

Those readers wrote crazy comments in harsh words and bad language bashing the Muslims, MAIS, Muslims activists and the government over the book that they have not read.

Isn’t it crazy to spew nasty words over a book that they had not read?

If TMI has good intention, why didn’t they mention what was written in the book’s introduction page?

The book did not tell the Muslim to hate the Christians as what TMI might meant to imply.

In fact it tells the Muslims not to hate the Christians.

I read the book, but have any of the TMI readers read the book before slandering MAIS, Muslims activists, the Muslims and the government?

Before we make a judgement, we must check the facts.

So before they judge the book, they must read the book.

What is wrong about students reading a book about the Christianisation strategy? 

That is better than reading entertainment magazines or taking part in anti GST demonstration when they themselves do not know what is GST. 

Not every body wants to be like PAS’s Mujahid Yusof Rawa who is ready to bash at anything that hurt his unofficial boss but says nothing when his boss, Haji Hadi (PAS’s president) was bashed by TMI.

(Please read: Bekas Mufti Hina Pembela Islam?)

Now Trending: #Kangkung

I have been wondering why out of the sudden everybody writes about kangkung?

So, I asked my mother, “What’s up with kangkung now that it becomes a trending?”

So my mother explained about it and now I know what happened, but I’m not interested to write about kangkung until I read a few ‘interesting articles’ in The Malaysian Insider, Malaysia Chronicle and The Star about kangkung.

Today, January 15, 2014, The Malaysian Insider (TMI) and Malaysia Chronicle (MC) both publish the same article but with two different titles, TMI’s title is, ‘Malaysia’s kangkung index – Sakmongkol AK47’ while MC’s title is, ‘HOW M’SIA HAS SUFFERED UNDER HIM: Najib’s ‘GREATEST LEGACY’ – the ‘kangkung index’.

TMI wrote that the writer of the article is “the nom de guerre of Raub MP Datuk Ariff Sabri” while MC wrote that it is “written by Abdul Aziz by Mohd Ariff Sabri”.

The author is trying to convince the readers that even Royal Professor Ungku Aziz is supporting Pakatan’s #kangkung issue that the Royal Professor wrote a ‘pantun’ about Pakatan’s kangkung:

“On the recent kangkung-gate faux pas committed by an insensitive PM, Ungku Aziz penned down the following verses:

Pucuknya angkuh memanjat bukit,
tak sedar akar terendam air parit,
rakyat mengeluh lelah dan sakit,
sedikit diberi banyak diungkit.

Pucuknya angkuh memanjat bukit,
Tak sedar akar diair parit,
Bagaikan melepas anjing tersepit,
Dah jadi pemimpin , rakyat digigit.” – The Malaysian Insider and Malaysia Chronicle. 

But today, The Star wrote an article entitled, “Ungku Aziz denies writing ‘kangkung’ statement”.

The Star wrote that Royal Professor Ungku Aziz told Bernama:

“I deny it 100 percent. It is a lie in which my name and photograph was used for other people’s interests…I don’t have a Twitter account and I did not make any such statement.

“I don’t know who did it and for what purpose. This is propaganda to strain my relationship with the prime minister and it’s mean,” he told Bernama – The Star.

So, TMI and MC both published an article written by a Pakatan’s DAP leader that wrongly accused Royal Professor Ungku Aziz as supporting ‘PR’s kangkung’ so much that he wrote a ‘pantun’ about kangkung.

Credit to Angin Perubahan.

This shows how PR’s bloggers love to spin and create stories until they themselves do not know which issue is a lie and which a is real issue.

When a leader did that kind of mistake, it destroys the leader’s credibility.

And the Pakatan’s friendly news portals destroyed the credibility of Raub Member of Parliament by publishing the article, as what Royal Professor Ungku Aziz told Bernama:

“To those who love propaganda, I advise then to stop such unhealthy activities,” – BERNAMA.

Pakatan claims that it is Utusan that spin stories but today they have ‘accidentally’ show us the truth.

Pakatan is too eager to play the #kangkung issue that they do not mind to defame others. 

So, who wrote the kangkung’s pantun?

I won’t be surprised if the Pakatan supporters blame UMNO, “Itu konspirasi UMNO”.