SHAH ALAM – Pas President Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang has been urged to retract his statement which was alleged to have incited hatred between Muslims and non-Muslims and to apologise to all Malaysians.
In a joint statement on Friday, four Democratic Action Party (DAP) leaders expressed the view that Hadi’s remark, stating that "even the most wicked and worst of Muslims ruling a country are not as oppressive as non-Muslims," was inappropriate.
According to them, the statement delivered on a political stage in Melaka tended to incite Muslims to antagonise and hate non-Muslims, with Pas further accused of once again playing divisive politics to win votes.
"We emphasise that those who are oppressive, wicked, and corrupt should not be elected as leaders at either the state or national level, regardless of their religion or ancestry.
"Malaysians must reject those who abuse their power, engage in corruption, and steal the people's money, including those who justify these actions," they said.
The joint statement was issued by DAP central executive committee members Senator Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali, Syahredzan Johan, Young Syefura Othman and Bukit Bendera member of parliament Syerleena Abdul Rashid.
They also described Hadi’s statement as not only misleading, but potentially tarnishing the sanctity of Islam by portraying a leader's oppression as acceptable or more lenient simply because they are Muslim.
"Do not let political interests cause Islam to be looked down upon and despised as a result of statements by a leader who ought to understand the religion's own principles of justice," they explained.
They said Islamic history itself offers a different lesson, when the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) instructed his companions to migrate to Abyssinia while Muslims were being oppressed in Mecca.
They said this action was taken because King Negus (Raja Najasyi), a Christian ruler, was renowned for his justice, to the extent that the Prophet (PBUH) described his rule as a place where no one was wronged.
The four DAP leaders also cited the views of the renowned Islamic scholar Ibn Taymiyyah, through his work Majmu', which discusses the principle that a just government, even if led by non-Muslims, is more capable of enduring than an oppressive Islamic government.
Therefore, they stressed that justice and trustworthiness in governance should not be sidelined due to narrow religious sentiments.
According to the four leaders, Hadi should also be judged based on the principles of justice, trustworthiness, and the validity of his arguments, rather than solely on the religious image carried by Pas.
"Do not ask the people to judge others based on religion, when one's own statements do not reflect Islamic principles of justice.
"Consequently, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang is urged to retract his statement and apologise to all Malaysians," they added.
In a related development, they also challenged Perikatan Nasional (PN) parties particularly Gerakan and the Malaysian Indian People's Party (MIPP) as well as Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, especially MCA and MIC, to state their stand regarding the Pas President's remarks.
They stated that if no stand is declared, the public has the right to question whether those parties accept and agree with the statement.