KUCHING: Sarawakians especially non-Muslims have been told not to fear Parti Islam Se Malaysia (PAS) as Sarawak lawmakers know what they are doing to protect religious harmony in the state.
In giving this assurance, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr James Jemut Masing, who is Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS) president, said the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) state government had no fear of associating with a coalition in which PAS was a member.
With PAS in the new federal government, which is supported by GPS, many Sarawakians, especially non-Muslims, have expressed their disagreement to the arrangement due to their perception of the party’s extremist ideology.
Others have also assumed that supporting the new government led by Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin could adversely affect GPS’ popularity which could cause it to not do well in the coming state election.
To this, Masing, who is also Infrastructure and Ports Development Minister, countered by pointing out that in fact the Democratic Action Party (DAP) political culture was more of a threat to the state’s socio-political stability and harmony.
“We have to keep in mind that there’s a considerable number of Sarawakians who are sympathetic (even receptive) to DAP’s political arrogance. Therefore, we ought to fear DAP more than PAS,” said Masing.
On GPS’ stand/position in the current political landscape, he pointed out that the state government was not a member of the federal coalition. It is a separate but friendly entity that is supportive of the new prime minister.
“We are not answerable to the Perikatan Nasional leadership and we know well how to protect our state and our religious harmony,” he told New Sarawak Tribune.
Regarding the general perception of PAS among non-Muslim Sarawakians, he observed that it had been rather negative due to lack or poor understanding of certain Islamic teachings as well as the controversial religious rhetorics by some preachers such as Zakir Naik and Dr Ridhuan Tee Abdullah, to name a few.
“We have banned these extremists from coming to Sarawak. In the same way we can manage and control PAS’ extremist influence in the state. As a result, the party has not been successful in getting a foothold in the state,” said Masing.
He recalled that a few years ago PAS proposed in Parliament to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355) or RUU 355 associated with Hudud law, but although the Barisan Nasional (BN) chief whip told all components of the coalition to vote for the Bill, Sarawak lawmakers irrespective of race or religions rejected it and it never went beyond the first reading.
“This proved that Sarawak lawmakers knew what they needed to do to protect religious harmony in the state,” stressed Masing.
