VETERAN lawmaker Lim Kit Siang has questioned PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang’s silence over the burning a copy of the Holy Quran outside of the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm on Sunday.
“Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has condemned Paludan. I have condemned Paludan. The minor PAS officials have condemned Paludan. But Hadi has been thunderingly silent. Why?” Lim asked.
The former Iskandar Puteri MP was referring to news reports that far-right politician Rasmus Paludan had set fire to a copy of the Muslim holy book in front of Turkey’s embassy in the Swedish capital.
In a statement today, the former Iskandar Puteri MP also said it is time for Hadi to personally state his stand on various important issues like corruption, Islamophobia and national unity in the country rather than leaving them to his subordinates to clarify with the most unsatisfactory explanations.
According to the veteran lawmaker, Hadi has taken a very ambiguous stand on these important issues up until now.
“Could he make a clear-cut stand on these matters? On corruption he has taken a racist – instead of an Islamic – position, blaming non-Muslims as being the root of corruption and even stating that giving cash handouts during elections is charity and not a form of bribery,” Lim said.
Recall that in Aug 2022 Hadi had accused non-Muslims and non-Bumiputera of making up the bulk of what he had called “roots of corruption” – those who chase illicit gains – to the detriment of the country’s economy and politics.
In a Facebook post, he had also said that all those involved in any form of corruption must be eradicated as they will not have the integrity to choose good leaders and not choosing a good leader was also committing a sin. – Jan 26, 2023
