PAS is planning to take legal action against Housing and Local Government Minister, Nga Kor Ming, over his statements alleged to be slanderous and defamatory against the party.
Its Secretary-General, Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, said the party takes the minister's ‘extreme and emotional’ statements seriously.
He said, among other things, the DAP vice president had accused PAS of being 'deviant', 'spreading deviant teachings', 'exploiting religion', 'destroying societal harmony', and 'blocking Christmas celebrations'.
"These extreme and reckless emotional outbursts are believed to stem from the criticism and concerns raised by the PAS Youth vice-chief Muhammad Hanif Jamaluddin, regarding the presence of Muslims at the recent Christmas celebration organised by the ministry."
"Following that statement, the ministry issued a response that was supposed to clarify the situation, but it seems to have instead dismissed the raised concerns.
"History has proven that since the country's independence, it has never happened in ministries or government agencies to openly organise religious celebration programmes other than Islamic ones on government premises, let alone involving Muslim officers and staff," he said in a statement today.
Therefore, PAS urges the ministry or any other parties to be more sensitive and cautious regarding issues involving religious laws, including during festive celebrations.
He said that this is because a careless, indifferent, or insensitive attitude can not only hurt Muslims but also good relations between races and religions.
"Behind his loud talks about harmony, unity, diversity, mutual respect, and so on, he shamelessly violates and challenges not only the authority of religious authorities in this country but also openly interferes in Islamic affairs."
"By stating that PAS is not only 'deviant' but also 'spreading deviant teachings', Nga has violated the rights and boundaries of power as well as the position of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and the Rulers as the heads of the Islamic religion, challenging the jurisdiction of the National Fatwa Council and the religious authorities responsible for determining the religious status of any individual or group of Muslims," he said.
Yesterday, Nga criticised PAS for the party's alleged hypocritical stance regarding the Christmas celebration held at the ministry in Putrajaya recently.
In a post on X this afternoon, Nga stressed that he would not succumb to "threats by extremists".
"I am a minister for all Malaysians regardless of race and religion. I will continue to promote racial and religious harmony.
"I will continue to defend our fundamental liberty enshrined in the Federal Constitution and never succumb to threats by extremists," he said. - December 29, 2024
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