PETALING JAYA: Deputy National Unity Minister Yuneswaran Ramaraj has strongly condemned PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang over remarks suggesting that non-Muslims are more oppressive than even the worst Muslim leaders, and called on him to retract them.
In a statement today, Yuneswaran took issue with a speech Hadi delivered at a Malacca state election campaign ceramah in Bukit Katil last night, in which the PAS leader was quoted as saying that even the worst Muslims ruling the country were not as oppressive as non-Muslims.
Yuneswaran said he viewed the remark seriously, particularly as it came from a senior politician and Member of Parliament who should understand the sensitivities of Malaysia’s multi-religious and multiracial society.
He questioned when justice and tyranny had come to be judged purely by a person’s faith.
“Should someone who abuses power or betrays public trust be seen as better simply because he is Muslim?” he asked. “And should an honest, trustworthy and fair non-Muslim be seen as more oppressive because of a different belief?”
Such thinking, he warned, was not only unfair but risked sowing prejudice, suspicion and distrust between communities of different faiths.
Yuneswaran stressed that his criticism was not directed at Islam. He said he respected Islam’s position as the religion of the Federation under the Federal Constitution, as well as the rights of other faiths guaranteed by it, and noted that justice, trust, honesty and mutual respect were values upheld by all religions.
He found it especially disappointing that the remark was made during the state election campaign, saying elections should be a contest of policies, service records, integrity and the ability to govern, not a platform for stoking fear or prejudice towards other religious communities.
Non-Muslims, he said, were not strangers in their own country but citizens who contributed to development, helped safeguard peace, paid taxes and built prosperity alongside their Muslim compatriots. No citizen, he added, should be regarded as lesser because of religion or ethnicity.
He pointed to Article 8(1) of the Federal Constitution, which guarantees that all persons are equal before the law and entitled to its equal protection. The Rukun Negara principle of the Rule of Law, he said, likewise required that responsibility and accountability be enforced through law rather than determined by religious identity, alongside the principles of the Supremacy of the Constitution and Courtesy and Morality.
“Wrong remains wrong, and tyranny remains tyranny, regardless of who commits it,” he said.
Yuneswaran noted that Hadi had also reportedly stressed that rulers must be fair to all citizens regardless of religion or race.
“How could that be reconciled with a statement portraying non-Muslims as generally more oppressive?” he asked, while calling for a clear and responsible explanation.
While Hadi was entitled to defend his political and religious principles, Yuneswaran said, free speech carried a moral duty to ensure remarks did not demean other communities or harm national harmony.
He urged Hadi to explain publicly what he meant and withdraw the generalisation.
“Religion is not a licence to oppress, and religious difference is not proof of oppression,” he said.
“Malaysia belongs to everyone, and national unity is not something to be gambled for politics,” he added.
