By Syed Jaymal Zahiid - The Malaysian Insider
Perkasa leaders cheering their cause at their AGM, with Ibrahim (front right) leading.
KUALA LUMPUR, April 11 — Malay rights group Perkasa has demanded the Najib administration places its new inter-faith panel under the national Islamic Affairs Department, saying it rejected the entity in its current form.
Perkasa has earlier made demands on the government’s New Economic Model (NEM) but Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak insists the group is “not so extreme”.
“We are suspicious of it, we reject the committee because this is religion we are talking about,” Perkasa president Datuk Ibrahim Ali told reporters after chairing the group’s meeting here.
The Independent Pasir Mas MP formed Perkasa two years ago, attracting Umno members who feel the Malay party is straying from its struggles of protecting and defending Malay rights and Islam.
Ibrahim said his group will tolerate the committee if it falls under the guidance of Datuk Jamil Khir Baharom, the Islamic Affairs Minister under the Prime Minister’s Department and not Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, who is currently the minister in charge.
“Because it has to do with religion, it should fall under the jurisdiction of Jakim or guided by Jamil and not Koh Tsu Koon,” stressed the Kelantanese leader, referring to the Islamic Affairs Department.
Although the committee has no legal standing, Ibrahim contended that it will be powerful enough to influence the Cabinet.
He accused the committee of not having “strong Islamic credentials” and pointed out that input from other religions may threaten the sanctity of Islam.
His complaint was directed at panel chief Datuk Ilani Isahak, a renowned moderate Islamic scholar and former Kota Bharu MP whom Ibrahim said was not “a good choice” to head the body.
“So can you imagine what would happen to our akidah (faith), it will derail it. This is not something that you play around with, this is very sensitive to the Muslims,” he lamented.
The inter-faith committee had been mooted in the past before but was rejected by Jakim which argued that Islam is the country’s official religion and should not be placed on the same par as others.
Ibrahim reinforced Jakim’s argument today, saying it’s a “second subliminal attempt” to threaten Islam.
“Islam is a wahyu (God-sent) religion while others are based on logic of the mind,” he said.
His other contentious issue with the committee was that it has no approval from the Conference of Rulers, the country’s supreme Islamic authority.
The Perkasa president said he will lobby Najib to review the committee set-up and propose that the current committee be changed to an inter-racial committee and drop religion from its scope.
Perkasa will also send a memorandum of protest to the Conference of Rulers soon.
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