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Public, politicians criticise Najib’s plan to strengthen Islamic laws

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s support for strict Islamic laws in a bid to consolidate support of ethnic Malay Muslims has been roundly criticised by politicians from both sides of the political divide and Malaysians alike.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak. Reuters file photo

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak. Reuters file photo

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KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s support for strict Islamic laws in a bid to consolidate support of ethnic Malay Muslims has been roundly criticised by politicians from both sides of the political divide and Malaysians alike.

“Najib’s move threatens to divide Malaysia along religious lines. All Malaysians should fear this kind of divisive move, not just the non-Muslims,” Dr Ong Kian Ming, a Member of Parliament from the opposition Democratic Action Party, told TODAY.

Dr Ong said Mr Najib is also playing with fire because the issue will also create rifts in the Premier’s own ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.

In a recent interview with pro-government broadcaster TV3 in conjunction with the United National Malays Organisation (Umno) general assembly, Mr Najib said it was the responsibility of Muslims to support a plan by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) to push for the strengthening of powers of the Syariah courts. “We want to develop Islam,” said Mr Najib. “Non-Muslims must understand that this is not about Hudud (the Islamic penal code) but empowering the Syariah courts.”

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang last week tabled a controversial parliamentary Bill to raise the punishment ceiling meted out by Syariah courts in PAS-ruled Kelantan.

Dr Ong said Mr Najib’s comments suggest the BN government would adopt the Bill in the next parliamentary session in March.

Mr Ti Lian Ker, who heads the Religious Harmony Bureau in BN component party Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) was similarly critical of Mr Najib’s move, which he described as “divisive”.

“This will compromise the component parties in the ruling coalition.”

Mr Ti said if the Bill is passed with the intention of allowing hudud to be implemented, it would then weaken BN’s political stand.

“All along they (BN) have stated that hudud cannot be implemented in a multiracial society like Malaysia. If BN open the floodgates for the Islamic penal code to be implemented, then it will be a political compromise for the ruling coalition,” added Mr Ti.

Malaysians interviewed by TODAY had mixed reactions to Mr Najib’s comments.

Mr Dylan Danabalan, an engineer, said: “Empowering the Syariah courts may cause the jurisdiction between Syariah and Civil courts to be blurred. As it is, there is much confusion on the powers of each court when cases involve Muslims and non-Muslims.”

Ideally, added the 28-year-old, there should be only one court which is the civil court.

Financial analyst Marc Tan, 30, said Malaysia is a country with a secular Constitution and a civil court and should be kept that way. But secretary Suzanna Mahmood, 36, said the Syariah laws apply only to Muslims and she agreed with the move to strengthen the powers of the Syariah courts. She added however that it “should not be done for political reasons”.

Mr Najib has battled calls to resign over the past 18 months, as a scandal involving state investment fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) drew anger of the public, opponents and members of his own party.

But he has weathered the political storm by emerging stronger than ever. Mr Najib has denied any wrongdoing and sacked his critics, including his former deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.

Analysts said Mr Najib’s stand on empowering the Islamic legal system was in a bid to consolidate support of ethnic Malay Muslims.

Dr Mustafa Izzuddin, a fellow at the Iseas Yusof-Ishak Institute said that by clarifying that the support of this bill is not the same as backing hudud, Mr Najib is trying to assuage the concerns of the BN component parties from East Malaysia, which are opposed to hudud being implemented in the country. He said: “It is vital for Najib to do this because the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak is just as, if not more, important as a voting bloc as the Malay-Muslims in Peninsula Malaysia for Najib’s coalition to be returned to government in the next election as was the case in the previous election.”

Dr Ooi Kee Beng, deputy director at the same institute, added that Mr Najib was nonetheless taking a risk with his move. “East Malaysia is the kingmaker and attempts to desecularise the country will meet strong resistance from Sabah and Sarawak and risk BN’s hold on power,” he said.

“(Mr Najib) has to rein in on his instinct to play Malay champion. As things look today, playing race and religion can easily backfire in the elections. In the end, he must win the middle ground to win.”

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