News & Comment
A Year of Pakatan Harapan Rule. Where is Islam?

News:

A year has gone by since the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government was elected by the people of Malaysia and its rule is full of events that has caught the attention of many. Malaysians are not just ‘watching’ as the events pass by – they are also assessing and ‘punishing’ the government in many different ways. Although the average people are grateful that the Barisan Nasional (BN) regime had been discarded, gratitude is not long-lived when they begin to see that Malaysia has not changed much, if not, worse than before. In order to cover the shortcomings and intense criticisms of the people, PH repeatedly try to convince the population that it is unfair for the people to compare them with BN that had ruled Malaysia for the past 61 years. In a sense this is true. On the other hand, Malaysians, in particular Muslims, must evaluate and measure the reign of PH with Islam, not by BN. In fact, both governments have not been implementing Islam in its fullest during their reigns. Both governments still cling on the Constitution inherited from kuffar. Although PH frequently brand their rule as the New Malaysia, in actual fact nothing has changed but the faces of the leaders.

Comment:

Since Malaysia’s independence from the British in 1957, the country has always been democratic in its ruling. This kufr system derived from the West puts the power to make the law in the hands of man. In reality, there is no righteousness for the people when this system, which is diametrically opposed to Islam, continuously plagues Malaysia. PH claimed that the New Malaysia offers a ‘better’ Malaysia compared to the reign of the BN government. They are proud that today, people are more free to speak, to demonstrate, to criticize the government and to be more open. The media is also seen to be more independent, students granted the ability to speak more freely, in fact, the opposition (BN) is given space to criticize the government. But the real question is, if democracy is seen to be implemented ‘better’, does this mean that the state of the country would be better? Superficially, many may see that this is a ‘better’ democracy but from the perspective of Islam, a ‘better’ democracy actually reflects a worse off situation. For example, the freedom of speech granted to the population has seen an increase in the ugly face of liberalism where amongst many things, we see LGBTs articulating their views without bounds! The very existence of this devious group of people is haram and now, we distinctly see efforts to normalize their presence!! Clearly, proliferation of liberal ideas is dangerous not just in the moral sense but also ideologically. Lately, as a consequence of the spread of liberal ideas, Islam in all its forms are under intense bombardment. In the latest development, even the activity of carrying out da’wah to the aborigines is under intense criticism, all in the name of freedom of religion! And sincere Muslims are having a very difficult time defending the various criticism against Islam, while the government, holding on to their promises to let freedom be, is only lukewarm in attending to these intense criticisms.

Democracy is a system of government which grants supremacy to the mind and aspires to expound ultimate freedom, which is in reality, to be free from 'the shackles' of religion. Islam on the other hand bounds the lives of human beings. This, however, does not mean that Muslims are not free, but they are guided and regulated by the Syariah. This is where we have to distinguish between the rights given by Islam and the rights granted by democracy. We are free to speak, criticize the government, demonstrate and so on, not because democracy allows us to do so, but because Islam allows us to do so. Islam grants us 'free' speech and freedom to carry out various activities as long as they are in line with Islam and any violations to these bounds are not allowed. The freedom offered by democracy is contrary to this. Its very essence is to free man from religion. The threats against Islam that we are facing now is not due to the question of ratification of ICERD or the Rome Statute. It is a threat to Islam because democracy is continuously implemented by the ruling parties! And today, in order to create a façade covering the ugliness of democracy, the PH government declared the principle of "Islam rahmatan Lil alamin" as a concept of their rule. How could they even talk about Islam as a mercy when Islam is not implemented in its fullest?? Obviously this is another political rhetoric; similar to Islam Hadhari and Islam Wasathiyyah propagated by BN in the past. These will remain as slogans until Allah swt snaps their power away from them. Every Muslim should reflect and ask ourselves. Is this government (or the past) ruling according to what Allah swt and Rasullullah saw ordered? It is high time that we strive for the return of true Islam under the umbrella of the righteous Khilafah (Caliphate) upon the method of the Prophethood.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Dr. Mohammad – Malaysia