FIGHTING might with might will not work against a hardcore cleric like Tan Sri Hadi Awang.
Describing Hadi as “dangerous and lethal politically”, political commentator Prof Dr Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi suggested firstly not to engage the PAS president “in an open warfare or on the battlefield”.
This is given many courageous political figures and civil society personalities are completely incompetent about battle strategies in politics.
“We must use a retreating tactic of starving him of food and fuel by eliminating his support base and not accepting his provocation and challenges,” opined the professor of Islamic Architecture at the USCI University.
“If there are some individual Chinese, Christians, Indians or Malaysian civil society personalities stupid enough to answer him, we must renounce these individuals by saying that he or she does not represent Malaysia.”
Secondly, Malaysians can show support to madrasah and tahfiz schools as well as sekolah agama by donating supplies like stationery, fire extinguishers and helping to fix up dilapidated buildings while making a show of it on social media like TikTok.
“Again, Hadi’s support comes from these tahfiz and madrasah and that’s why Anwar is pouring money there and we Malaysians can call Hadi’s bluff by being good Samaritans to these religious schools,” suggested Tajuddin.
“This is how we silence Hadi and politely tell him that he is wrong about all good Malaysians.
Thirdly, Tajuddin called on the media to not publish or ‘over-glorify’ Hadi’s statements. “Give him a page five and not the front page. Of course, I leave this to the wisdom of the media people,” he noted.
Fourthly, Malaysians must never tolerate any harsh languages used on social media against people like Hadi Awang.
“Please remember thar to many ignorant Malays, Hadi is a religious leader who is at the same level as mufti and learned clerics. Any rude remark on him will be an attack on Islam,” cautioned Tajuddin. “Thus, we must chastise and renounce anyone making rude comments on PAS and Hadi.”
Fifthly, Malaysians must send a memorandum to all our political parties that if any of them are even seen with Hadi and PAS, they risk being renounced as a political party.
“When GPS (Gabungan Parti Sarawak) wanted to work with Hadi, I was proud that Sarawakians came to the rescue of Malaysia and reprimanded the leadership of GPS,” justified Tajuddin.
“If Gerakan still claims that Hadi’s statement is his own personal opinion, then Gerakan must think we Malaysians are stupid. Hadi is not only the leader of PAS, he is the de facto leader of Perikatan Nasional (PN). (Tan Sri) Muhyiddin (Yassin) or (Datuk Seri) Hamzah (Zainuddin) is zero compared to Hadi in influence.”
Added Tajuddin: “If Muhyiddin does not have money – then like (Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak) – nobody will give him the time of day. But Hadi has influence of tens of thousands without having to dish out any cash because of his religious call to political war.”
Sixthly, Tajuddin suggested engaging good Islamic non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like ABIM and IKRAM to forge a united answer if Hadi attacks other faiths and races. “Do not answer him alone for that is what he wants,” reminded Tajuddin.
Seventhly, Malaysians can form groups in each state to write and present a memorandum to the sultans and regents to seek their help to get the Islamic departments in their respective states to answer Hadi’s lies in using the Quran and the Sunnah to attack innocent Malaysians within their faiths and races.
“The mufti who are Hadi’s counterpart must be asked through the sultans and regents to intercede because Hadi is not only a politician but he is also a religious scholar and teacher. If not, the Malays will be thinking that Hadi holds the Islamic moral ground with his use of the Quran and the Hadith,” justified Tajuddin.
Finally, he suggested that Christians, Chinese, Hindus, Indians, Dayaks, Kadazans and other Malaysians should invite Hadi and his generals to an open and public forum where “we can politely ask him to justify his accusations”.
“We must treat him with respect; we must keep him safe and above all, we must speak with dignity from one human being to another or from one Malaysian citizen to another Malaysian citizen. Be polite, be respectful and be dignified in dealing with Hadi and PAS.” – May 16, 2023
