Kit Siang: Who has bigger say in PAS?
PETALING JAYA: DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang has asked who has the bigger say in PAS after two party leaders issued conflicting messages about Christmas greetings.
Lim questioned who represented the view of the Islamist party on Christmas, whether it was PAS Youth chief Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi, who is the son of party president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, or secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan.
“Is the warning by the PAS Youth leader to Muslims not to post Christmas greetings on Facebook because the Christian celebration is against the teachings of Islam and that there should not be any acknowledgement of the Christian religion, the official stand of PAS or is it merely the personal view of the son of the party president?
“Who has the bigger say in PAS – the PAS secretary-general or the PAS Youth leader and son of the PAS president?
“What is the stand of Datuk Seri Hadi Awang, PAS mursyidul am Hashim Jasin and the PAS Dewan Syura on this issue?” Lim asked in a statement.
While Muhammad Khalil had warned against Christmas wishes for Christians, Takiyuddin sent out festive greetings to all Malaysians in conjunction with Christmas.
Lim said that many prominent Muslim leaders in the country and around the world also sent Christmas greetings and partook in the celebration.
Among those named were Sultan of Johor Sultan Ibrahim Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar and Permaisuri Johor Raja Zarith Sofiah Almarhum Sultan Idris Shah, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Jordan’s King Abdullah II and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas.
“Are they any less Muslim as a result?” asked Lim.
PAS leaders, he added, could learn a thing or two from Dr Wan Azizah, who, at a Christmas hi-tea reception with the Christian Federation of Malaysia and its partners on Tuesday, shared her experience of studying in convent schools, thanking her nun teachers for inculcating good values in her that shaped her into a better person.
He also said it was sad and pathetic that more and more PAS leaders were showing their “primitive mindset”, citing the example of a PAS preacher who shared the video of the band Seventeen performing shortly before being swept away by a tsunami in Indonesia and linked it to vice activities that invited the wrath of God.
Lim further said he was flattered that an ally of Muhammad Khalil had created an “Amanat Kit Siang” against him.
“Is there an Amanat Kit Siang? If there is, let it be the following: Let Malaysians, whether Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus or other faiths resolve that one of the objectives of a New Malaysia is to make Malaysia one of the foremost nations in the world in interfaith dialogue, understanding and tolerance,” he said.