‘Wasatiyyah concept suitable for Malaysia’
KUCHING: The concept of ‘wasatiyyah’ or moderation suits a multiracial and multi-religious country like Malaysia very well, opines Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing.
As such, he said the concept if propagated should be encompassing and holistic.
“Wasatiyah, among other things to be considered by those in power, is that ‘might’ is not ‘right’. The size of one’s group doesn’t give one the right to impose one’s thoughts and beliefs on smaller groups in a multi- racial nation like Malaysia.
“For this philosophy to work, we must ‘walk the talk’. That is, what we say we must do. ‘Jangan cakap tak serupa bekin’,” Masing told The Borneo Post yesterday.
He added that all races in the country must be sensitive towards others, including the minority groups.
“It’s not about ‘ Me, us and my community’ against others, but it should be encompassing in nature,” he stressed.
The PRS president pointed out that in the context of Sarawak, even though the Dayaks are the majority, they should not try to impose their values and beliefs on others.
“We cannot think about ourselves only as we are living in a multi- religious and multiracial country. And because of that I agree with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on this issue,” he reiterated.
Najib was reported to have said that the concept of ‘wasatiyyah’ was proposed to be incorporated in the school and university curricula to raise understanding of the concept.
The prime minister said the government was making efforts
Wasatiyyah, among other things to be considered by those in power, is that ‘might’ is not ‘right’. The size of one’s group doesn’t give one the right to impose one’s thoughts and beliefs on smaller groups in a multi-racial nation like Malaysia. For this philosophy to work, we must ‘walk the talk’. That is, what we say we must do. ‘Jangan cakap tak serupa bekin’. Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing, Deputy Chief Minister
to gather the knowledge from all the religions in the country to discuss the ‘wasatiyyah’ concept to make it the best practice and way of life for the country’s populace.
“Surely if we study all the religions, each has practices that can be said to be universal although different in creed but in terms of similarities, whether it is Christianity or Buddhism, there’s the meaning of moderation.”
Najib said this in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday in reply to a supplementary question from Othman Abdul ( BN-Pendang) on whether the government planned to incorporate the ‘ wasatiyyah’ concept in the education curricula and to gather religious scholars to discuss the concept.
The prime minister said the government was aware that it was a difficult task to inculcate the ‘wasatiyyah’ concept among society in Malaysia and the world compared to inculcating hatred.
“This is a big challenge for us because to arouse anger and in fact hatred is easier than getting people to practise noble values such as ‘wasatiyyah’ as enjoined by Islam,” he said.
Looking at the threats of terrorism, extremism and Islamophobia occurring across the world, Najib said the call for the ‘ wasatiyyah’ concept to be practised universally had now become more relevant.
Meanwhile, state BN secretarygeneral Dato Sri Dr Stephen Rundi Utom concurred with the prime minister that the concept of moderation should be propagated among the people.
“We practise moderation in Sarawak so much so, it comes naturally without much effort; the result is, Sarawakians live harmoniously with mutual respect and minimised interference on each ethnic’s practices and way of life. I must congratulate PM on his stance on the issue of tolerance amongst Malaysians,” said Dr Rundi.