Video maliciously used to mar my image: Minister

• ‘Footage from private meeting with group was spread by third party with intent to defame and create polemics’

KUALA LUMPUR: Education Minister Fadhlina Sidek (pic) said a video related to the issue of kafir (infidels), that has been widely circulated on social media, was taken out context in a malicious attempt to tarnish her image and credibility.

In a post on her Facebook page yesterday, Fadhlina said the spread of the video was also intended to spark issues related to 3R (religion, race and royalty) by distorting the true meaning of her speech so that she would be blamed for hate speech, false accusations and slander.

Fadhlina clarified that it was a video taken from her private meeting with a certain group, which was taken by another party and disseminated with an interpretation to defame and create polemics.

“A poster was deliberately produced to create a polemic to distort the original meaning of the viral video clip, which shows me giving a speech stating that I do not allow my children to express the term kafir at home.

“In the video recording (closed event), I touched on the spreading of hateful, ghuluw (extremism) and takfiri sentiments among a few people, to the point of slandering me and that my life will not be blessed because I work for infidels.

“I mentioned that I don’t allow my children to use the term kafir, which has the connotation of hatred towards non-Muslim citizens who live together in our beloved country.

“On the issue of the term kafir or ‘nonMuslim,’ it is not my intention to prohibit the use of word in the Quran, let alone denying the terms used in the Quran,” she said in a statement uploaded on her Facebook page yesterday.

Fadhlina said it is an issue of choosing the appropriate term in daily life, taking the example of the late scholar Prof Dr Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi and the former rector of Al-Azhar University Prof Dr Ibrahim al-Hudhud who acknowledged the use of ghayru Muslim (non-Muslim ) including in social usage.

Fadhlina, who is also PKR Wanita chief, said she had no intention of commenting on the issue because those who heard the speech could judge what was truly conveyed, but the video which was widely circulated, among other things, posed a threat to her and her family’s safety, which is something she could not compromise on.

“Friends advised that a police report be made for security reasons. A group of lawyers suggested taking legal and civil action against those involved. Lawyers are also gathering evidence through social media. It seems that many social media users have acted out of control, including being too extreme in their reactions.”

In the statement, Fadhlina also apologised if she had hurt the feelings of any party due to any misunderstanding, slip of the tongue and mistakes on her part, Bernama reported.

Yesterday, Fadhlina’s political secretary Atiqah Syairah Shaharuddin filed a police report in Kuching, Sarawak regarding the spread of the video and a poster of the minister which was allegedly edited and was slanderous, causing negative reactions from netizens.