Zahid wants crackdown on 'Shiite' Mat Sabu
Nigel AwPublished: Dec 7, 2013 8:31 AM | Updated: Dec 7, 2013 2:51 PM
UMNO ASSEMBLY The anti-Shiite rhetoric that dominated the Umno general assembly has culminated in the home minister accusing a top PAS leader of being a Shiite member.
VIDEO | 2.01 mins
UMNO ASSEMBLY The anti-Shiite rhetoric that dominated the Umno general assembly has culminated in the home minister accusing a top PAS leader of being a Shiite member.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (right), who is also Umno vice-president, openly levelled the accusation against PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu in his winding up speech at the general assembly today.
"We are curious as to how PAS chose a Shiite leader as its number two in the party. Do not try to hide.
"The Home Ministry empowers (Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Islamic Affairs) Jamil Khir Baharom (below) to take action against the leader," he pronounced.
Shiite is an Islamic school of thought deemed deviant in Malaysia, where almost the entire Muslim population adhere to the Sunni teachings.
"We know who is the Shiite leader in PAS," he declared as the crowd cheered wildly.
Ahmad Zahid called on PAS to cross party lines and cooperate with the government to curb Shiite teachings.
"It would be good if PAS has the courage and political commitment to reject the prominent Shiite leader from becoming a party leader," he said.
Did not name names
For Umno, Ahmad Zahid said Shiite members were not welcomed in the party and even proposed an amendment to the party's constitution that its Muslim members must be Sunni.
This was on top of similar amendments first mooted by Umno deputy-president Muhyiddin Yassin to be made to the federal constitution.
Ahmad Zahid pledged to come down hard on Muslims adhering to the Shiite school of thought.
"If any Shiite leaders are followers (and) conduct Shiite activities on premises... the home minister will use his power to seize the premises," he said.
He further announced the creation of a commission to curb deviant teachings.
Even though Ahmad Zahid did not name names, his singling out of PAS’ second most senior-ranking member made it obvious and earned him loud cheers from the floor.
When contacted, Mohamad Sabu, or Mat Sabu as he is better known as, declined to comment, telling Malaysiakini in a brief text message, "I did not hear it (the accusation) myself".
Ops Cantas to go on
Meanwhile, On Ops Cantas, a special operation initiated after a string of street shootings, Ahmad Zahid said it will continue to be carried out until gangsters cease to exist in Malaysia.
"I can confirm that the Home Ministry, through the police, will continue Ops Cantas until all secret societies in this country are gone," he said.
There had been a call earlier during the assembly for police to use Ops Cantas to go after members of the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs (Comango).
Delegate Ramli Sharif, from the Arau Umno division in Perlis, had accused the NGOs of harping on values which go against Islam and claimed several of the NGOs are ‘illegal’, having never been registered.
Meanwhile, another Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal (left) echoed Muhyiddin's call to make it constitutionally mandatory for Muslim Malaysians to be Sunni.
He also urged the government to focus on rural voters, which is the ruling coalition’s main support base.
"In the 13th general election, our stronghold were rural villages... The fact is rural voters determined who is in power today.
"For the cities, at most we won Johor Bharu, even in other urban areas where we won, it was only by 1,500 or 2,000-vote majority.
"But in the rural areas, they were 15,000 or 20,000-vote majority. This is the reality that we must concede," he said.
UMNO ASSEMBLY The anti-Shiite rhetoric that dominated the Umno general assembly has culminated in the home minister accusing a top PAS leader of being a Shiite member.
Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (right), who is also Umno vice-president, openly levelled the accusation against PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu in his winding up speech at the general assembly today."We are curious as to how PAS chose a Shiite leader as its number two in the party. Do not try to hide.
"The Home Ministry empowers (Minister in the Prime Minister's Department in charge of Islamic Affairs) Jamil Khir Baharom (below) to take action against the leader," he pronounced.
Shiite is an Islamic school of thought deemed deviant in Malaysia, where almost the entire Muslim population adhere to the Sunni teachings.
"We know who is the Shiite leader in PAS," he declared as the crowd cheered wildly.Ahmad Zahid called on PAS to cross party lines and cooperate with the government to curb Shiite teachings.
"It would be good if PAS has the courage and political commitment to reject the prominent Shiite leader from becoming a party leader," he said.
Did not name names
For Umno, Ahmad Zahid said Shiite members were not welcomed in the party and even proposed an amendment to the party's constitution that its Muslim members must be Sunni.
This was on top of similar amendments first mooted by Umno deputy-president Muhyiddin Yassin to be made to the federal constitution.Ahmad Zahid pledged to come down hard on Muslims adhering to the Shiite school of thought.
"If any Shiite leaders are followers (and) conduct Shiite activities on premises... the home minister will use his power to seize the premises," he said.
He further announced the creation of a commission to curb deviant teachings.
Even though Ahmad Zahid did not name names, his singling out of PAS’ second most senior-ranking member made it obvious and earned him loud cheers from the floor.
When contacted, Mohamad Sabu, or Mat Sabu as he is better known as, declined to comment, telling Malaysiakini in a brief text message, "I did not hear it (the accusation) myself".
Ops Cantas to go on
Meanwhile, On Ops Cantas, a special operation initiated after a string of street shootings, Ahmad Zahid said it will continue to be carried out until gangsters cease to exist in Malaysia.
"I can confirm that the Home Ministry, through the police, will continue Ops Cantas until all secret societies in this country are gone," he said.
There had been a call earlier during the assembly for police to use Ops Cantas to go after members of the Coalition of Malaysian NGOs (Comango).
Delegate Ramli Sharif, from the Arau Umno division in Perlis, had accused the NGOs of harping on values which go against Islam and claimed several of the NGOs are ‘illegal’, having never been registered.
Meanwhile, another Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal (left) echoed Muhyiddin's call to make it constitutionally mandatory for Muslim Malaysians to be Sunni.He also urged the government to focus on rural voters, which is the ruling coalition’s main support base.
"In the 13th general election, our stronghold were rural villages... The fact is rural voters determined who is in power today.
"For the cities, at most we won Johor Bharu, even in other urban areas where we won, it was only by 1,500 or 2,000-vote majority.
"But in the rural areas, they were 15,000 or 20,000-vote majority. This is the reality that we must concede," he said.
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