THERE is a plot twist to the sarcasm that PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari was trying to level at Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming after the latter ignored his recent social media posts questioning “which side had your grandfather fought for during World War II (WWII)” when the Japanese invaded the then Malaya.
Unsatisfied that the DAP vice-chairman has been dead silent to take up his challenge which is rooted to Nga labelling PAS as a deviant teaching party (parti ajaran sesat) following the recent spat over Nga “openly involving Muslim staff in Christmas celebration at government premises”, the Pasir Mas MP has perhaps found a better trigger.
Somehow fanning the 3R (race, religion and royalty) sentiment, the PAS lawmaker has mooted the idea of Nga showing his openness in celebrating all festivities at his ministry “by inviting Hindu MPs from your party (DAP) to attend the Hari Raya Korban as well”.
Fadhli’s sarcasm is profound as the Muslim festivity which is also known as Hari Raya Aidil Adha or Eid al-Adha (literally, “the Feast of Sacrifice”) entails slaughtering of cattle which include cows that are perceived to be sacred to Hindus (majority of Malaysian Indians are Hindus).
“That is my expectation, not a proposal,” he caveated in his latest Facebook post.
“Hopefully, 2025 will see the Minister being more refined in his speech by abstaining from using Islamic terms that deviate from the true meaning such as “hadis nabi” (prophetic hadith), “zakat” (tithe) and even “ajaran sesat” (deviant teachings).
“Seek advice first from friends in the other (political) party if it’s absolutely necessary to use them (such terms). Do not simply label the party of others as deviant if you’re unsure if their true meaning.”
Apologising aforehand to Nga if he found it “too difficult” to respond to his question pertaining to the Teluk Intan MP’s grandfather, the PAS lawmaker went on to wish Nga a “Happy New Year 2025” and hope that “mainstream media would publish my apology’.
“Hopefully, the minister will continue to work towards raising the rating of his ministry from three stars to four or five stars. If it continues to remain at three stars, I’m worried that it will be wrongly interpreted (as “Bintang Tiga” a.k.a. the Malayan Peoples’ Anti-Japanese Army (MPAJA) which was a movement controlled by the Malayan Communist Party).
“And finally, hopefully you’ll continue to remain as a member of this government’s cabinet as long as the government remains. This is because the minister’s attitude has been really helpful to us on the opposition side to open the rakyat’s eyes as to how bad this current government is.” – Jan 2, 2025
