KUALA LUMPUR – Countries are allowed to spy and carry out intelligence gathering to protect the overall security of the nation and its people.
However, if the very same government used its machinery to spy on opposing politicians for political expediency, then it becomes a sin.
In a Facebook post, PAS leader Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz said according to Islam, the government is allowed to spy on the people using modern technology to ensure overall security and the well-being of its people.
“This includes intelligence gathering on drug cartels, triad members, organised crime, and other external enemies of the nation.
“But to deploy government machinery for personal gains is forbidden in Islam.
“I do not know who is behind the audio recordings between Zahid and Anwar but the person behind it has committed a sin.”
Nik Abduh was commenting on the leaked audio recording purportedly between Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“If the government is behind it, then the clandestine act is very wrong. The country’s intelligence capability is not to be used to further the gain of political parties or individuals.
“I hope it is not carried out by the government and I also pray that PAS is also not complicit to the act.”
He added that governing the country is the government’s responsibility and to abuse government machinery for political assassinations is tantamount to treason and is wrong and sinful.
Nik Abduh said PAS is prohibited by Islam to use sinful means to achieve a forbidden end.
He said he hoped that the country’s political landscape stays healthy for the overall prosperity of the people.
He added that revealing other people’s secrets is a “deviant practice”, is a big sin, and privacy is everybody’s right. – The Vibes, April 10, 2021
