Azmin, Sivarasa must take the rap for Masjid An-Nur incident
KUALA LUMPUR: Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali and Subang member of parliament R. Sivarasa have to take responsibility for the Masjid AnNur ceramah incident, which angered Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah.
Kuala Selangor MP Datuk Seri Irmohizam Ibrahim said Sivarasa had tarnished the sanctity of Ramadan, especially as the ceramah was supposedly conducted in the main prayer hall.
“All parties need to respect the institution of the mosque as a place of worship, especially in this holy month of Ramadan. Mosques or other places of worship should not be used as a political arena.
“The organiser, which is the mosque’s committee, should not be saying that they didn’t know what happened as they have the right to stop unwanted activities,” he said yesterday.
“So, the menteri besar, Azmin, should also take responsibility and give clarification and seek forgiveness from the sultan of Selangor for not abiding by his decree.”
On Monday, Sultan Sharafuddin had ordered the Selangor Islamic Religious Department (Jais) to take action against the Kampung Melayu Subang mosque committee for allowing a PKR MP to hold a ceramah in its premises.
Jais director Datuk Haris Kasim had said that he was informed by Sultan Sharafuddin’s private secretary Datuk Munir Bani that the sultan was displeased by the MP’s conduct.
He had reminded mosque management com mi tees to abide by the rule that prohibits unauthorised speakers from giving talks in their mosque, in accordance with what Selangor Islamic Council chairman Datuk Mohamad Adzib Mohd Isa said in his speech on Monday.
Haris said Sultan Sharafuddin had issued a decree to Munir for Jais to take action against the nazir of the mosque and its committee for allowing it to happen.
In Shah Alam, Azmin said he wanted politicians in the state to respect and abide by the guidelines stipulated by Jais when visiting mosques and surau.
Azmin said he had, on Tuesday, explained to the Sultan what had happened during a programme where Sivarasa handed over contributions at the An-Nur Kampung Melayu Subang mosque.
“Tuanku said Jais’ guidelines must be followed to ensure that mosques and surau remain places of worship for Muslims. The main roles of the mosques and surau are to preserve unity among Muslims and to ensure that it does not stray from its primary role. This has been said clearly (by Jais) and all parties must respect Jais’ decision for mosques and surau to function smoothly,” he said.
Azmin said politicians with meet-the-rakyat programmes in mosques and surau should hold the events away from the prayer hall.
“It can be carried out within the mosque’s compound. I do not think this (holding it in the mosque compound) will be a problem as it is a process to ensure that Jais’ guidelines are respected by all,” he said at the state weekly exco meeting yesterday.
Azmin, who is also PKR deputy president, said Sivarasa had contacted him on the matter. He denied reports that Sivarasa had represented him during the event.
“He was there in his capacity as MP of the constituency, not to represent me.
“I have read many news reports saying so. That is not true.”
Subang member of parliament R. Sivarasa will write to Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah to clarify allegations that he had delivered a political speech inside AnNur Mosque in Kampung Melayu Subang last Wednesday.
The PKR MP said he wanted to clear the air as the issue had been misunderstood.
“I have no intentions to defy the instruction and advice of Tuanku Sultan Selangor. Therefore, I will write a personal letter to Tuanku to explain the matter,” said Sivarasa in a statement yesterday.
Sivarasa stressed that he had not given any ceramah, especially on politics and religion, and he did not represent Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azmin Ali at the event where he handed over RM71,000 in contributions to mosques and surau in the Kota Damansara constituency.
He said he decided to attend the event after being told about it by Kota Damanasara constituency coordinator Mohd Radzlan Jalaludin.
Sivarasa said he was not scheduled to give any ceramah but was invited by the emcee to give a brief speech before the handing over of contributions.
“As a guest who was invited to say a word or two, it would not be good for me to decline.”
Sivarasa said, in his speech, he had extended Ramadan wishes and voiced his confidence in the Selangor government’s commitment to assist the mosque and surau institutions in the state.
He added that he also shared a little about his experiences visiting mosques and surau in the Subang constituency since becoming MP in 2008 and how those visits had helped him deepen his understanding of Islam and the Muslim community.