PAS struck raw nerves yet again as its vice-president Husam Musa’s latest proposal was blasted by a MCA leader for being utterly insensitive towards the feelings of non-Muslims.

husam musa bangsar 080408 left In Berita Harian today, Husam was quoted as saying prayers and religious practices would be factors of consideration when weighing promotions for civil servants in Kelantan.

The PAS leader also said that the recruitment of non-Muslims for the civil service will follow this rule too, according to the Malay language daily.

MCA National Service secretary Loh Seng Kok in an immediate response chastised the proposal as “totally ridiculous.”

“Religion is a very personal matter between the individual concerned and their own God. Different people with different faiths will pray using their own ways. We cannot judge a person by their faith or by how they practice their religion in public,” said Seng Kok.

He added that the measure contravened the Federal Constitution when it coerced religious practice among people.

“It also does not mean that because a person fails to pray, he or she holds less morals. People can pray and yet still commit adultery or practise corruption."

The move will also unfairly discriminate against law-abiding civil servants who are free thinkers working in Kelantan, argued Seng Kok. He feels the PAS-led Kelantan government should practise meritocracy.

“We should be looking at a person's work performance and other criteria rather than judging how and if they pray.”

loh seng kok Seng Kok intimated that if the Kelantan government is really serious in promoting interfaith understanding and higher spirituality, they should allocate more funds for non-Muslim religious activities.

He advocated that all taxpayers in Kelantan should benefit from allocations for religious activities. That should be the responsibility of the Kelantan government, he surmised.

Youth chief supports Husam

PAS Youth Chief Salahuddin Ayub however unsurprisingly supported the proposal and said that it coincides with the party’s vision of Islamic governance.

raja petra court case 060508 sallahuddin ayub “The federal government has tried its best to contain corruption through introducing various measures but such practices still exist despite what it has done.

“The approach to instil strong Islamic values among government staff is possibly a good method to reduce corruption,” reasoned Salahuddin.

In his statement the Kubang Kerian MP lauded the Islamic governance approach adopted by the Kelantan government as a success and asked its critics to recognise it.

PAS has been consistently admonished as a party of Islamic fundamentalists by its opponents. The party in contrary sees itself as a proponent of Islamic governance that takes into account non-Muslim sensitivities.