Former Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin, popularly known as Dr MAZA, spoke out against acts of religious provocation, and called for national leaders, regardless of faith or affiliation, to unite in condemning these acts.
He spoke following last weekend’s dumping of a cow’s head in front of Penang state assemblyman RSN Rayer’s home. Rayer’s preofessed Hindu religion views cows as being sacred creatures, and as such the severed cow’s head was seen as a major affront to his sensibilities.
“We have to stop; we cannot play with fire. This act is wrong, whether the government did it, or the DAP did it, or ordinary people did it,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
“Regardless of who the culprit is, it is definitely against Islam. But at the same time, we cannot accuse the government of being behind it, as anyone could have done it. In politics, anything is possible.”
The popular religious scholar said such finger-pointing was useless, and that leaders needed to unite in condemning such acts.
“All leaders, especially during the fasting month, must find a peaceful solution,” he said.
“Both the government and the opposition must think about long-term politics that would bring benefit to the country.”
He also said that Malaysian leaders must educate the public that such provocation was unacceptable.
Asri also urged the DAP as well as various Malay-Muslim rights groups currently voicing out over the issue to tone down their statements which might trigger further provocation.
“Constructive criticism is very welcome in our society. But provocation that could lead to chaos and tension should be avoided.”
The cwo’s head attack was the latest salvo following Rayer’s exclamation in a session of the Penang State Assembly of “UMNO celaka” (“damn UMNO”), which first led a group of enraged Penang UMNO Youth members to storm the Penang state assembly hall seeking to have words with the DAP assemblyman.
After the cow’s head was found in front of Rayer’s house, Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties MIC, MCA and Gerakan were swift in condemning the act; however, UMNO vice-president and Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi commented that the act was Rayer’s price to pay for having a “big mouth”.
Controversial Malay-Muslim rights group Perkasa has since come to the defence of the Home Minister, saying that the incident should serve as a reminder to non-Malays not to hurt the feelings of the Malays.
This was not the first time a cow’s head had been used to protest against an alleged slight by Hindus – in 2009, a group of Muslim Shah Alam residents paraded a cow’s head to the Selangor state secretariat building to protest the state government’s decision to relotate a 150-year old Hindu temple from Section 19 to Section 23.
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Perkasa backs up Zahid Hamidi on RSN Rayer cow head attack remarks
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