Salam Aidilfitri, Agak terkejut juga apabila seorang senator yang "terawang-awangan tanpa parti" TERKEJUT & memberi komen tentang hasrat PAS Sarawak untuk bertanding di kerusi-kerusi majoriti muslim. Yang dipertikaikan adalah istilah "kerusi muslim" yang bercanggahan dengan konsep 1 Malaysia yang dibawah oleh Najib. Sebenarnya ini bukanlah satu isu langsung. Ia cuba membawa isu remeh-temeh tentang penggunaan istilah tersebut. Seperti isu cawat baru-baru ini. Sebenarnya, pemimpin BN semakin gentar dengan angin perubahan yang berlaku yang semakin hari semakin kencang. Senator shocked to learn that PAS had tried to gain political mileage by claiming there are Muslim sgeats here KUCHING: Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Senator T Murugiah was shocked to learn that Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) had tried to gain political mileage in Sarawak by claiming there are Muslim seats in the state. He said such claims by any peninsula-based parties like PAS could be detrimental to a multi-racial state like Sarawak, where inter-racial and inter-religious harmony had long existed and prevailed. He went on to say that Sarawak was the best state in terms of unity in Malaysia, and if he were empowered to give rankings on unity index in Malaysia, he would rank Sarawak as number one. As such, he did not wish to see this fine reputation tainted by dirty politics especially by peninsula-based opposition. “I was quite shocked when I read in the papers that PAS claimed to have identified Muslim seats in Sarawak. Claims such as this should not have cropped up. “I request the opposition political parties from the peninsula not to harp on racial and religious issues in order to reach their respective political goals. This would only make matters worse, and could destroy the long-existing unity in this state. “Please think about our future. Don’t break up the unity. Play your role in uniting all of us under an umbrella called the 1Malaysia concept,” he told a press conference yesterday after he chaired a meeting with the state National Integration and Unity Department at Bangunan Sultan Iskandar here. Murugiah was responding to newspaper reports which quoted PAS Sarawak secretary Saidin Massudin Sahim as saying that there were 28 Muslim seats in the state. Saidin was talking on the party’s plans for the coming state election on Monday. This claim was brushed aside by Assistant Minister in the Chief Minister’s Department (Islamic Affairs) Datuk Daud Abdul Rahman, who on Tuesday said there was no such thing as a Muslim seat and the state Barisan Nasional did not look at religion as a factor. On a related matter, Murugiah who is also in charge of national unity and integration, said Sarawak would be the inspiration for Malaysia’s bid to break it into the top 10 of the global unity index (GUI) rankings. He said Malaysia aimed to be in the top 10 of the GUI rankings in the next three years, after making it at 26th this year and 38th in 2007. The first ranked country in the world is New Zealand, while in Asia the top two are Japan and Singapore. According to him, the main factor is great respect for each other’s cultures and religions. He said the government would focus on more programmes capable of minimising racial and religious conflicts and insensitive criticisms towards each other. He added that he was also directed by Minister-in-Charge of Unity Senator Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon to go the ground more often. “All the states in the peninsula must learn about unity from Sarawak. They must emulate Sarawak where there is good relation among the people regardless he or she is a Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Malay, Melanau, Iban, Chinese (or other racial groupings). “I used to serve in the armed forces and I remembered one occasion in Sarawak when I attended a Christmas gathering. One table had pork, the middle table had beef and the other one had chicken wings. Although there were Muslims and Hindus there, they had no problems sitting together and mingling around even though their friends are eating meats forbidden by their religions. “I was so touched by that scene, because this was never experienced in the peninsula. You can find this only in Sarawak,” he said. To a question, he said the racial polarisation in the peninsula was not so serious although he did pledge that the department would do its best to change such perception among the people there. “We all come from one father and one mother. Most religions believe in Adam and Eve… We also all bleed the same colour,” he said. He said the government would also look into a mechanism similar to the US-based GUI rankings, to give official rankings to the states in Malaysia. Sumber: mysarawak.org
TOP 10 TARGET: Murugiah (seated centre) fielding questions from reporters. Also pictured are state National Integration and Unity Department director Rajali Mudin (left) and assistant director Delin Liet Balaun (right).
Dewan Pemuda Pas Kawasan Petra Jaya mengucapkan selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, maaf zahir dan batin.
