The time has come for Hadi to personally state his stand on various important issues like corruption, Islamophobia, and national unity, instead of leaving to his subordinates to clarify with most unsatisfactory explanations

The time has come for the PAS President, Hadi Awang to personally state his stand on various important issues like corruption, Islamophobia, and national unity, instead of leaving to his subordinates to clarify with most unsatisfactory explanations.

Up to now, Hadi has taken a very ambiguous stand on important issues like corruption, Islamophobia, and national unity.

Could he make a clear-cut stand on these issues?

On corruption, he has taken a racist instead of an Islamic position, blaming non-Muslims as being at the root of corruption, and even stating that giving cash handouts during elections is charity, and not a form of bribery.

Hadi has made the preposterous allegation that the DAP promoted Islamophobia but has not been able to cite an instance of such promotion in the last two months.

Instead of admitting his error, Hadi compounded his mistake and came out with a widened and ridiculous definition of Islamophobia, stating that it was used to stop “the true Islam” from taking power and governing the country.

By Hadi’s new definition, he made Bersatu and Gerakan guilty of Islamophobia as they did not only did not want Hadi as Prime Minister, they also did not want him as Parliamentary Opposition Leader although PAS has more parliamentary seats than Bersatu.

Is Hadi in a position to state how many of the 57 countries in the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) practise “the true Islam”?

Hadi had been the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy to the Middle East to two “backdoor” Prime Ministers, but he is not aware that the OIC has an OIC Islamophobia Observatory in Saudi Arabia which conducts global and daily monitoring of Islamophobia, and that the OIC Islamic Observatory in its 14 annual reports since 2007 have not found any Islamophobia in Malaysia.

Since his allegation, there has been a clear case of Islamophobia, with the Swedish-Danish far-right politician Rasmus Paludan burning a copy of the Holy Quran in Stockholm on Sunday.

The Prime Minister has condemned Paludan. I have condemned Paludan. The minor PAS officials have condemned Paludan. But Hadi has been thunderingly silent. Why?

What is Hadi’s stand on promoting inter-racial and inter-religious understanding, harmony and peace in multi-racial, multi-lingual, multi-religious, and multi-cultural Malaysia?

Does he accept the five nation-building principles of Rukun Negara?

Does he accept the aspiration of Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdul Rahman that Malaysia become “a beacon of light in a difficult and distracted world” as Malaysia is at the confluence of four great civilisations — Malay/Islamic, Chinese, Indian, and Western — and there is no reason why Tunku’s aspiration cannot be realised if Malaysians can leverage on, and be guided by the values and virtues of the four great human civilisations in the world?

Lim Kit Siang DAP Veteran