I refer to the letter Hasan Ali ‘a beacon of light for Islam’ . Allow me to visit each of the points raised by Dr Kama Mustaffa Muhammad. But, before that allow me to make a statement of fact.

Just after the March 8 general elections, in the wee hours of the morning of March 9, in complete secrecy and stealth fashion, Hasan Ali was betraying the hundreds of thousands of Muslim and non-Muslim voters who had voted for Pakatan Rakyat.

In those wee hours of March 9, Hasan Ali was betraying his partners, DAP and PKR. In those wee hours of March 9, Hasan Ali was plotting with the ‘enemy’ Umno to form a coalition government in Selangor. Now, whatever the justification, can you call such a person a ‘beacon of light for Islam’?

Now back to the points raised. I quote:

1. ‘With regards to Selcat, Hasan Ali did the right thing…and he believes in principles.’

What is the ‘right thing’ that Hasan Ali did? The formation of Selcat was agreed to by the menteri besar, approved by the state exco in Hasan Ali’s presence and it was then debated, voted and passed by the Selangor state legislative assembly with Hasan Ali participating on May 26.

He is now questioning the very decision he was party to. If Hasan is unhappy, why not discuss this in the exco meeting and fix whatever ‘shortcomings’ that he has seen? If after that he wishes to inform the public, make a public statement together with the MB after the exco meeting and inform everyone of what you had brought up.

Why publicly attack Selcat chairperson, Teng Chang Kim of DAP? The answer? It is common knowledge that Hasan Ali was playing the racial card – attacking the Chinese chairperson to defend the witnesses who were Malays. This being the case , the question is - what principles does Hasan believe in?

It cannot be Islamic principles – because Islam is much, much more wholesome than this. So, it can only be concluded that Hasan Ali believes in racist principles and, therefore has done the wrong thing, not 'the right thing.'

Selcat was investigating wrongdoings by BN assembly persons just prior to the last general elections. This Selcat investigation is a direct reaction to Umno's abuse of MACC to investigate Pakatan Rakyat representatives’ use of their allocation and find something to bring down the Selangor government in the process.

Allocations for state assembly persons were disbursed through the respective local or district offices and these officers had no choice but to follow their political masters or be shipped out. They should have taken the righteous path and be shipped out rather than do illegal things. Selcat proceedings were to expose these BN elected representatives.

If these officers felt shamed by their own actions being exposed then they should take responsibility for they too were a party to these inappropriate actions - accomplices to corrupt practice. Islam, from the very little I know, is very stringent about corruption.

Instead of calling for these officials to be tried for their crimes, Hasan Ali, goes out on a limb to support them. Is such a person a ‘beacon of light for Islam?

2. ‘The alcohol ban that was proposed (now it is off) was not for non-Muslims; it was for Muslims and those under the legal age. Is this too hard for them to understand?’

No, it is not too hard to understand – provided you have got your facts right in the first place. Let me set the records straight. On July 18, MBSA enforcement officers raided a convenience shop in Section 8, Shah Alam and confiscated 70 cans of beer worth RM 620.

Ronnie Liu, state exco for local government, questioned this and ordered the goods to be returned. Hasan Ali blew his top, supported the move and the rest is history.

Now let us look at the legal aspect. There is no law to prevent the selling of beer anywhere in Malaysia – including in Muslim majority areas. ‘We understand we do not have laws to stop the selling of beer,’ said MBSA mayor Mazalan Md Noor while commenting on the beer raid.

So Hasan Ali is abetting, condoning, encouraging, and supporting illegal activities. So what other illegal activities would he be encouraging next? Now all convenience shops in Shah Alam have stopped selling beer under pressure from the MB.

When asked about the rights of the Chinese and Indians living in Shah Alam, Hasan said the non- Muslims could easily buy their beer from the many shops outside Muslim-majority areas. Okay. But why should we go miles and miles away to buy our beer? Why deny our right to safeguard your sensitivity?

We understand the sensitivity of the Muslims. So step up enforcement to catch Muslims buying beer. Catch them and charge them in the syariah court. Impose stiff fines including community work. Come up with new rules requiring identification for buying beer, liquor and cigarettes. Don't make beer adverts conspicuously in theatres in Selangor- instead get them to show the negative aspects of these abuses.

There are so many effective ways to go about to bring about a mental change rather than illegal beer raids and trampling on the sensitivity and rights of non-Muslims.

3. ‘Please tune into YouTube and search under on 'alcohol binge', 'alcohol policing', 'alcohol health' and related issues. The truth is out there for those who are willing to think.’

We wholeheartedly agree with the writer one hundred percent on this. You mean well in wanting to curb the consequences of drinking. It is the reason and methodology of doing this that sets us apart. You want to do it for religious reasons. You want to take a hard ball approach to this.

I, for one, would leave it to the non-Muslim individual and to his relationship with God in this matter and encourage him to see the ill-effects of excessive drinking – it’s up to the individual to decide to drink or not to drink. Don't force him by banning the product. Let's respect the laws, customs and sensitivities of all concerned and not impose Taliban-style illegal enforcement in Malaysia.

4. If I were to choose a ‘beacon of light for Muslims’ in Malaysia it would be Tok Guru Nik Aziz Nik Mat or Khalid Samad. They try their best to live by their faith with integrity, sensitivity and openness and suffer the political consequences of doing so.

For the sake of many of my Muslim friends and for the love of my beloved country – please do not hold Hasan Ali up as a ‘beacon of light for Muslims.’ Nothing, nothing can be further from the truth.

I rest my case.