PETALING JAYA: The National Patriots Association (Patriot) wants Perlis mufti Datuk Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin to tone down his rhetoric on race and religion.
Patriot president Brig-Jen (Rtd) Datuk Mohamed Arshad Raji (pix) said Asri had made a very unwise statement in a sermon last week that could disrupt the peace and harmony in the country.
Arshad said Asri was “adding fuel to fire” to keep racial tension aflame in the country.
The mufti had said in his sermon that justice was for everyone but when it came to national identity, there must always be a dominant race. And as far as he was concerned, the dominant race in Malaysia was Malay.
The mufti posted a video recording of his sermon on his Facebook page.
“The last thing we need is for someone to publicly declare that Tanah Melayu is for the Malays,” Arshad said in reaction to Asri’s assertion.
He said the mufti should have, instead, urged all Malaysians to stay united in the face of the economic challenges ahead in this critical period.
He said Asri should learn to understand the concept of “shared prosperity” advocated by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the Pakatan Harapan government worked to provide a decent standard of living for all Malaysians.
Asri’s statement has prompted calls from Sarawak for him to be barred from entering the state.
Arshad said that such statements could escalate racial tension and rip apart the already fragile inter-ethnic relations between the peninsular on one side and Sabah and Sarawak on the other.
He pointed out that there was “absolutely no room” for racism and an exclusivity attitude.
“Malaysia is for all Malaysians. We must all be united and capitalise on lending each other our strength. There is no place for a parochial mentality,” he added.
