DAP MP just as guilty of riding on religion, say Khairy and Shahril

DAP MP just as guilty of riding on religion, say Khairy and Shahril


Among the accusations which Pakatan Harapan levels at Perikatan Nasional are that the latter uses religion for its political interests, noted suspended Umno leader Shahril Hamdan.

Therefore, he said it was inappropriate for DAP lawmaker Howard Lee to do the same by citing a Quranic verse.

“I don’t see how that is different from what he did. Of course, there is also an added dimension where it is seen as non-Muslims attempting to teach Muslims of how to interpret Quranic verses.

“That is off on multiple counts. So personally, I don’t support it,” he added in the latest episode of the Keluar Sekejap podcast.

Agreeing with Shahril, Khairy Jamaluddin said the Ipoh Timor MP had provided fodder to his political rivals.

“Essentially, anyone can refer to the scriptures. In this case, Lee (above) referred to the Quran. Sometimes, we also refer to the scriptures of others (different faiths).

“He wanted to make a point… It is the so-called verse to command loyalty... That is what he was trying to do. A lot of politicians know this as the ‘loyalty to the authority’ verse

“But I am with Shahril. We have to be really careful. Perhaps, we also refer to other scriptures when we wish to promote interfaith understanding and so forth, we have to understand the context,” he added.


Unwise political fodder

Given the current context where DAP is saddled with the perception of being anti-Islam. Khairy said it was unwise of Lee to do this.

“You accuse PAS of riding on religion but then you do the same when they (DAP) are traditionally seen to be, right or wrong, anti-Islam.

“So when this thing happened. Politically, I think it was unwise because he gave many bullets to the opposition,” he added.

Lee cited the Quranic verse to criticise PAS and its president Abdul Hadi Awang. This courted flak and led to the police launching an investigation.

However, the Ipoh Timor MP clarified that he merely quoted the verse and did not interpret it.

“I take this opportunity to apologise for any inconvenience that this may have caused.

“I also apologise for all of my non-Muslim friends from other parties, Gerakan as well as those from the PAS non-Muslim supporters wing, who have also quoted Quranic verses in the political context,” he said.