‘Other parties championing Islam because Pas did it first’
PETALING JAYA: Pas candidate for the Seri Setia by-election Dr Halimah Ali has voiced her support for Pakatan Harapan’s aim to champion issues related to Islam.
Dr Halimah said this reflected well on Pas, whom she said was a factor behind why other parties were championing the same issue.
“Pas has long championed and upheld Islam in Malaysia.
“So, when other parties like PH issue such statements, I see it as proof that our struggle is bearing fruit.
“It’s good if other parties are taking up the mantle of upholding Islamic issues.
“That’s what we want, for others to also work towards doing good,” she said at a Hari Raya Aidiladha event at Masjid Nurul Yaqin here yesterday.
She was commenting on a statement by PH candidate Halimey Abu Bakar on PH’s stand that it also upheld Islamic issues.
Dr Halimah, however, noted that PH was only continuing the initiative she had started when she was a member of the state Education, Higher Education and Human Capital Committee, especially on building religious schools in the state.
“What’s being done now is a continuation of what we did before. In fact, issues in Selangor include the lack of Religious Secondary Schools (SMA).
“That led to the setting up of Maahad Integrasi Tahfiz Sains (MITS) Selangor in Alam Impian, Sepang and Pandan with the aim of having one MITS in each district. But even that isn’t enough.
“I took the initiative to persuade the Selangor Islamic Religious Department to add more SMAs in the state. So, they (PH) are not really doing anything new.”
Dr Halimah said the RM6 million allocation for “sekolah agama rakyat” was under her portfolio when the initial budget was tabled in 2009.