‘Chinese burned Quran’, Mashitah turns up heat

Mkini

Turning her back on the reminder not to raise sensitive issues, a former deputy minister related how the Chinese had allegedly torched pages of the Quran during a prayer ritual.

Mashitah Ibrahim, who represented Kedah, raised the issue during the Wanita Umno general assembly today.

“In Kuala Kedah, Kak Ta (Kuala Kedah Wanita chief Noor Hasita Mat Isa) recently told me that the Chinese community (there) burned the Quran page by page during a prayer ritual.

“Do you feel challenged? Sensitive? Sad? Frustrated?” she asked, prompting delegates to respond in the affirmative.

“If you feel that way, why not voice out? Don’t be quiet. Where is our voice in the media, in cyberspace? Don’t be the silent majority. (Don’t allow) the minority to talk.

“The position of Islam and the rights of Muslims are being challenged. After 57 years of independence, why is this happening?

“Is it to divide (us) or the political gimmick of certain quarters, or the revolution of ICT (information, communication and technology) or is the Islamic agenda envied in Malaysia?” she asked.

Therefore, Mashitah , who was attached with the Prime Minister’s Department, said Wanita Umno delegates and Muslims should not be the “silent majority” when their faith is challenged.

Although she did not elaborate on the incident, Mashitah could be referring to a case last week where the police detained a man after pages of the Quran were found burned in a container at a food court near a market in Alor Star, Kedah.

State police chief Zakaria Yusof told the media that the man, whose personal details have not been ascertained, would be referred to the hospital for examination and treatment.

He also revealed that traders at the market often saw the man wandering in the area and burning papers near the food court.

Meanwhile, Mashitah said that the agenda of Islam’s foes is to confuse Muslims and urged the formulation of a “strategic plan” to counter this.

Among her suggestions was for the Registrar of Societies (ROS) and Registrar of Companies (ROC) to reject organisations which used the term Islam at their whims and fancies.

“Doesn’t matter if it is Parti Islam, Brothers in Islam, Sisters in Islam, Mother and Father in Islam… They use Islam not to follow the Sunni teaching, but (to support) liberals and LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders),” she said.

Prior to the Umno annual general assembly, party secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor had reminded delegates not to raise sensitive issues related to race and religion.