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The government’s silence on the recent Firdaus Wong controversy is only aggravating the disharmony among Malaysians.
It is worrying that there are no responses from relevant ministries and even the law enforcement officers.
According to Article 12(4) of the Federal Constitution, a person under the age of 18 may have his or her religion chosen by his or her parents or guardian, as stated in Malay Mail.
A preacher urging minors to go against the law by converting without their parent's consent is so absurd. What’s worse is that, according to FMT, he allegedly handled similar cases before. It is clear that Wong is breaking Article 12(4).
The Madani government has consistently warned the public not to touch sensitive topics, particularly the 3Rs, which include religion.
However, as of right now, the government is doing nothing to investigate Firdaus Wong's immoral behaviour.
Doesn't this contradict the government policy and show a double standard?
Professor James Chin, in a Tweet, alleged that the silence from the Madani government is attributed to “playing it safe”. He alleged that the government is afraid to shake up the political climate as Malays, being the majority of the population in Malaysia, hold the upper hand in deciding who is in power.
However, we ponder on whether a peaceful religion such as Islam would condone such actions on minors or is this someone who is misusing the religion for his own benefit?
The government’s silence would only antagonise Islam and this can reinforce negative stereotypes of said religion. This would also reap islamophobia and cause division among Malaysians.
The Madani government has to step up in voicing out on this issue to protect Malaysians’ interests and security regardless of religion as the preacher’s actions are blatantly illegal.
Should Chin’s allegation prove to be true, who is really out there to protect the interests of non-Muslim Malaysians?
Written by Ng Zhen Hao and Eric Emmanuel
Ng Zhen Hao 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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