On the 8th of February 2024, PAS President, Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang wishes Malaysian-Chinese a happy Chinese New Year on Facebook. The Facebook post was written in Malay, Mandarin, English, and Tamil; it emphasizes the importance for Malaysians who live in a multi-racial country to understand each other’s cultures by visiting one another and respecting each other so that they can continue to live in a joyful and harmonious atmosphere. It was an unprecedented move by the PAS President to charm non-Malays especially the Chinese during the festive season.
Has Mr Abdul Hadi Awang and his party turned over a new leaf or is it one of his tricks? Before we are swayed by his words, let us look into the post itself and then look at PAS' actions and words leading up to the Chinese New Year to determine if his party's past words and actions contradict his current CNY message.
CNY Message Facebook post
1. "PAS, through its governance in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis, has successfully shown that religious freedom for other faiths is not obstructed…This allows non-Muslims to live peacefully and prosperously under PAS administration, with the rights to religious and other freedoms"
In his CNY Message Facebook post, Mr Abdul Hadi Awang maintains that “PAS, through its governance in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis, has successfully shown that religious freedom for other faiths is not obstructed..". It seems that Mr Abdul Hadi Awang has forgotten what the PAS administration has done in Kedah - in 2021, the Kedah state government led by Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor (a key PAS member and Menteri Besar of Kedah) had the audacity to cancel the Thaipusam state holiday for Hindus in Kedah. The Thaipusam is an important holiday and festival for the Hindus as the festival is celebrated to commemorate the victory of the Hindu God Murugan over an evil demon using a “divine spear” granted by Parvati. Mr Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor even said that the state (Kedah) would allow state assemblyman service centers to operate via drive-through services for the people in their respective constituencies. However, only one-third of devotees will be allowed to pray at temples during the festival. To add insult to injury, they have also demolished places of worship which is clearly an obstruction to the right of practitioners of other faiths/religions to practice their religion. This brings me to my next point.
2.“…places of worship are not demolished, and economic activities are not restricted. This allows non-Muslims to live peacefully and prosperously under PAS administration, with the rights to religious and other freedoms.”
In his CNY Message Facebook post, Mr Abdul Hadi Awang asserts that “PAS, through its governance in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis, has successfully shown that religious freedom for other faiths is not obstructed, places of worship are not demolished”. That is funny seeing how 2 Hindu temples were demolished in Kedah in 2020, one a heritage temple in Alor Setar, Kedah and the other in Kulim, Kedah. Mind you all these took place after the PAS government led by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor came into power in Kedah in 2018. Mr Abdul Hadi Awang even downplayed the Hindu temple demolition by insisting that it was legal. So much for “places of worship are not demolished”.
3. “…places of worship are not demolished, and economic activities are not restricted. This allows non-Muslims to live peacefully and prosperously under PAS administration, with the rights to religious and other freedoms.”
In his CNY Message Facebook post, Mr Abdul Hadi Awang asserts (again) that “PAS, through its governance in Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis, has successfully shown that religious freedom for other faiths is not obstructed, places of worship are not demolished and economic activities are not restricted. ” Need I remind Mr Abdul Hadi Awang that ever since his party (PAS) took power in Terengganu, unisex hair salons were banned and operators of hair salons who openly disregard the gender-segregation licensing regulation will incur a fine. It is also worth noting that PAS has also called for all concerts featuring international artists to be canceled. Are these not economic activities that can generate income for local business operators and entrepreneurs? Don't they boost the local economy? By banning unisex hair salons and calling for all concerts featuring international artists to be canceled, it sounds like PAS is restricting economic activities - so much for “economic activities are not restricted”.
Besides all the things I have listed that show that his party's past words and actions contradict his current CNY message, there are a few more controversial things that he has said regarding non-Muslims. These include:
- Majority of non-Muslims are the “roots of corruption”.
- Non-Muslims must be grateful for ‘being given a place’ here, should just let Malays continue leading the country
These are a few things that we must bear in mind when considering whether his CNY message is a sincere one or not; whether he and his party has turned over a new leaf in the new year. He may think that Orang Malaysia mudah lupa but let us remind him that Orang Malaysia Tidak Mudah Lupa!
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Aaron Colt is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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