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Shame on Pakatan for not backing Khalid Samad

In the past weeks we have seen a shocking development. The continued refusal of the Selangor Islamic Affairs Council (Mais) and the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department to return the Malay and Iban language Bibles they seized (despite the attorney-general’s statement that the Bibles broke no laws) represents a grave threat to freedom of religion in Malaysia.

Instead of taking strong action to secure the return of the bibles however, the Selangor state government under Khalid Ibrahim has treated the issue as a political football, kicking it around and delaying and giving excuses.

Bodies like Mais, it seems, can behave like gangsters - they can break the law, trample on citizens’ rights, steal the holy books of others - and get away with it, as long as they say they are doing so in the name of Islam.

Finally, the PAS MP Khalid Samad made the perfectly reasonable suggestion that the executive powers of Mais (a body that no one even elected) be revoked. In response, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the Sultan of Selangor, expressed his anger at Khalid Samad’s ‘irresponsible’ statement.

The BN government and its supporters predictably used this to come down on Khalid Samad, berating him for ‘insulting’ the sultan and threatening to prosecute him for sedition.

But most shameful of all was the way Khalid Samad’s fellow Pakatan politicians reacted. Khalid Ibrahim responded by urging people to respect the monarchy. Anwar Ibrahim responded by beseeching the sultan to ‘forgive’ Khalid Samad for what he said!

Let’s get a few things straight. Khalid Samad is one of the few people in this entire episode who has conducted himself with honour.

In standing up for citizens against the oppression of Mais he has been faithful to the people who elected him. In refusing to allow the name of Islam to be tarnished by thugs like Mais he as been faithful to his own conscience. There is nothing to forgive him for!

The reaction of the Pakatan politicians is nothing less than a terrible betrayal of a man who has stood up for justice. So it seems you can have justice and rationality and common sense and even the law on your side, but all of those things melt away if a sultan gets angry.

That an extremist organisation can continue to abuse their power if not allowing them to do so will make the sultan angry.

In the last general election I voted - for the first time in a long time I voted - because I wanted a better future for my children and my grandchildren, and because I believed in Pakatan; I believed we were electing better leaders than what we have seen in this sorry episode.

I voted for Pakatan to stand up for the oppressed, to protect the freedoms and rights of the people. I did not vote for them to flatter the sultan, to cower in fear and beg for forgiveness whenever the sultan raises his voice.

But instead the Pakatan leaders have betrayed Khalid Samad for daring to stand up for the people, and so betrayed the Malaysian people they were elected to protect. Shame on them! Shame on PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim, and all the others who have kept their silence on this issue.

The last time I checked, Malaysia was not supposed to be an absolute monarchy. Malaysia is and was always meant to be a democracy, and it is about time our politicians started acting as such. In a democracy the first and foremost responsibility of politicians is to the people, not a sultan.

In a democracy people protect their freedoms and are prepared to oppose authorities, and, yes, even a sultan if necessary. And this is what we must do.

Because Malaysia is bigger than just one man. Because our country is more important and more precious than the whims of any one man.

The Pakatan leaders should realise this. They should say what is right and what is true - that Khalid Samad has nothing to apologise for - and rally behind him and actively oppose all efforts to persecute him.

If they can’t even do this - if they can’t stand up for the rakyat, if they can’t even stand up for one of their own for doing only what he was elected to do, then why should any of us stand up for them?

In a way I can understand their reluctance. They think they have to appease the more extreme Malay voters to get into power.

It is tempting for them to betray their principles for political advantage. But they think they can do this because they have taken the support of the moderates for granted.

They are wrong. They are losing the support of moderate Malaysians. They are already losing mine.

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