vox populi small thumbnail'Unfortunately because of the many incompetent people helming the religious institutions, Asri was even labelled a Wahabbi.'

Asri: Woman denies embracing Christianity

Alan Goh: Selangor exco Hasan Ali and Jais (Selangor Islamic Affairs Department), there might be some isolated cases of conversion but do not be a hypocrite and paint all poor Muslims with the same brush as men/women of weak faith.

If you have done all that former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has said, why the fear of proselytisation?

Petestop: Indeed, Asri is one of few who practises what he preaches.

Unfortunately because of the many incompetent people helming the religious institutions, Asri was even labelled a Wahabbi for not complying to their racial and religious agenda.

Christians are obliged to help a neighbour in need; ‘Love Thy Neighbour' is one of the 10 commandments since Moses' time.

I wonder where all the zakat (religious tithe) money goes, if they cannot even help the Muslim poor who really need it.

AkuMelayu: If by giving assistance to the underprivileged Muslims and in return the church entices them into embracing Christianity, it shows that they are not sincere in their actions and the goodwill is suspect. ‘Ada udang di sebalik batu' as the saying goes.

Blazing his gun at the Islamic authorities only shows how shallow Mohd Asri's understanding of how the authorities work in helping needy Muslims is.

The authorities don't give fish to the needy Muslims, but they give them the fishing rod.

Wira: From the report, I tend to think needy Muslims were given the run around by the authorities, considering the billions received as zakat to the detriment of the nation's coffer in reduced income tax collection. It's others who have given the poor the fishing rods.

Ben-ghazi: It makes me wonder what the Lembaga Zakat Selangor does with the zakat that we Muslims have been paying. There should not be any more poverty among Selangor Muslims if the zakat money is utilised properly for the benefit of the ummah. Allah knows best.

Wira: Asri is an exemplary Muslim who preaches love rather than compulsion in winning hearts. Always remember, outsiders will never be drawn to a religion if the promoters themselves are not practitioners of their faith.

David Dass: There are number of issues here. First to ask a basic question: What is proselytism? Is explaining my faith to someone of another faith proselytising? Is responding to questions about my faith proselytising? Is it wrong for a priest to respond to someone from another faith who says that he or she is interesting in learning more of his faith with a view to possible conversion? Should they be turned away?

Second, is it wrong for someone from another faith to respond to the distress call of a Muslim? How do we discharge our duties as Malaysians if the problems of members of another race or religion is not my problem? Is it the view of official Islam in this country that Muslims have no obligation in the eyes of God to bother about non-Muslims?

Thirdly, is freedom of conscience and belief of no consequence in official Islam?

Another line should be drawn between unconditional humanitarian aid and aid being traded for conversion. In this context, children should not be taught another religion with the object of converting them without the consent of the parents, and parents relying on aid should be deemed incapable of giving their consent.

And everybody should accept that no one can be coerced to believe something that they do not believe in. We cannot legislate faith and force compliance by enforcement of a religious law.

We give this power to a 'faith' police to the detriment of our people. Let God be the judge. He is powerful enough to look after all of us without assistance.

Anonymous_5fb: Asri, I agree with most of your points and wish not to dispute those. But, shouldn't we human beings help each other in whatever ways we can, irrespective of race and religion?

I can't understand why only Muslim can help Muslim and not others? My religion doesn't teaches me that but to promote love, kindness and compassion to all sentient beings, which include all living things, not just human beings.

Headwillroll: We should be free to choose the faith that we want. If that faith serves us well, that's the one we would like to keep. There is not need to be so jumpy.

Stories: Instilling one with Christian values equals conversion? So teaching you not to steal means you are a Christian? It's just a ridiculous way of equating a dog with cat just because they are both not cows.

FairMind: If Mother Teresa is still alive today, she won't last a day in Malaysia. Only in a place like India can she help the poor and destitute.

In Malaysia, Mother Teresa won't be appreciated and on the contrary she would be branded as evil by Perak mufti Harussani Zakaria and thrown into prison for proselytising the poor and under-privileged.


AG told to come clean on Ho Hup allegation

JBGUY: Let's see how serious PM Najib Razak is in fighting corruption. Is he going to remain silent and bury his head in the sand like the proverbial ostrich or will he awake from his slumber and demand quick action be instituted against the tainted attorney-general (AG)?

One Brain Cell: MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) will have to consult the AG before pressing charges against him. That's how Dr Mahathir Mohamad rigged the "legal" system so the AG controls the judiciary while the PM controls the AG.

In the end, it all goes back to the enormous power concentrated in the hands of the reigning PM. Such over-centralisation is absolutely dangerous and no longer tolerable to the politically conscious rakyat.

Kit P: A person cannot act as the decision maker on his own case. That's basic Ethics 101, which Abdul Gani Patail may or may not understand.

In Malaysia, the AG makes the decision whether to proceed with prosecuting a criminal case. Since this case involves the AG himself, he must step aside for the duration of the investigation.

Rubystar_4037: Thank you, Robert Phang for being vocal again, without fear or favour of being persecuted again for imaginary slights by theAG.

The AG has done enough damage to the judiciary and has perverted the course of justice so many times that I am amazed that he is still being retained as AG by the PM.

Is it because there is no suitable candidate to replace him or is this AG has amassed a lot of black dossiers on the powers-that-be that he is untouchable?

Vijay47: Like millions of Malaysians, I am also baying for Gani Patail's hide and waiting for the sweet day of his comeuppance. Nevertheless, the sheer stupidity of what such an act would reveal makes me hesitate to believe this latest item.

Here is a man whose every move is closely monitored and numerous allegations are made against every month or so.

Bearing that in mind, would anyone, even an imbecile like Ibrahim Ali, go out and invite further trouble like getting favoured members of the public pay his house renovation bills? The jury is still out on this.

 

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