GEORGE TOWN – A Penang Amanah leader has called for issues of religion and race to be used to unite society rather than divide the people, especially in view of certain quarters whipping up such issues to the hilt.
Muhammad Faiz Fadzil (Permatang Pauh-PH) said that for the past two decades, his political detractors have been exploiting differences in race and religion, stressing that they had only largely succeeded in dividing the Malay-Muslims further apart.
It has reached a point where Malays are bitterly divided on many fronts, said Faiz, who is the son of the late PAS president Datuk Fadzil Noor.
Faiz, a Kedah-born lawyer who now lives in Penang, said this when debating the amendments to the Islamic administration enactment of Penang in the state assembly today.
He hoped that the proposed amendments to finetune the shariah administration would materialise, pointing out that it is important to build unity among the community.
He said that the concept of “madani” (civility), which is an acronym made up of six core values, namely sustainability, prosperity, innovation, respect, trust and compassion, can be the guideline in helping Muslims uphold their cause to serve their religion well.
The Malaysia Madani concept was introduced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in January.
“We need to inculcate back our wisdom and to educate ourselves well to become competitive in an increasingly unforgiving and challenging world,” Faiz said.
“Madani espouses to us the need to respect knowledge and experience.”
Madani also encourages Muslims to be more tolerant of each other and to stop becoming oppressive towards each other, he added.
He also called for the empowerment of the Penang mufti’s office by firstly ensuring that all Friday sermons are standardised in mosques and surau to prevent any quarters from exploiting the congregations to instil the evil designs of hatred.
“We should make the narrative of unity visible and present in all mosques,” he said.
The amendments were tabled by Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman (Pinang Tunggal-PH).
Earlier, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow told the house that the deepening of the Sg Muda river mouth was undertaken by the Kedah Islamic Foundation.
The foundation is also mining the excess sand, he said.
Chow (Padang Kota-DAP) said that the inshore fishermen on the Penang side of the main river had complained that their boats were damaged due to low tides.
He expressed hope that the dredging activities can help them operate on the river normally. – The Vibes, March 7, 2023
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