Scholar: Good leaders won't promote alcohol
Former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has lambasted political leaders for campaigning for “destruction”, by taking part in beer festivals.
Mohd Asri said a good leader will not campaign for “destruction”.
“Even if he smokes, he will not campaign for smoking. Instead, his honesty will make him admit the dangers of smoking to his rakyat,” Mohd Asri said in a Facebook posting today.
Former Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin has lambasted political leaders for campaigning for “destruction”, by taking part in beer festivals.
Mohd Asri said a good leader will not campaign for “destruction”.
“Even if he smokes, he will not campaign for smoking. Instead, his honesty will make him admit the dangers of smoking to his rakyat,” he said in a Facebook posting today.
Mohd Asri ( right ) said alcohol also “destructs” and went on to point out that the government of the United Kingdom had to spend “millions of pounds” to deal with the effects of alcohol on its people.
“How can there be political leaders in the country who campaign for a beer festival? On what culture and what logic do they do it?” he asked.
Admitting that Islam recognises the non-Muslims’ right to drink alcohol, Mohd Asri ,however ,argued that campaigning openly for a beer festival cannot be accepted by Islam and “any rational mind”.
What has alcohol to do with democracy?
“If there are political leaders campaigning for alcohol on the basis of democracy, it appears that he or she is talking about democracy without understanding the reason why people choose democracy.
“Democracy is for a better life, and not just to satisfy the needs of certain quarters without taking into account the good and the bad,” he said.
Pakatan Rakyat leaders had, early this month, lent their support for the controversial Oktoberfest beer festival.
Several MPs and assemblypersons attended the beer festival to “show support” for the organisers.
Those at the beer festival then included Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen, Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, Subang MP R Sivarasa, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok as well as Bukit Gasing assemblyperson R Rajiv, Damansara Utama assemblyperson Yeo Bee Yin and Bukit Lanjan assemblyperson Elizabeth Wong.
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