Redundant, says PAS of proposed ulama consultative council
PAS president Fadzil Noor today shot down Umnos latest proposal to establish a National Ulama Consultative Council (NUCC) as another sandiwara (stage play).
Fadzil said a NUCC would be redundant as the country already had the Malaysian Muslim Scholars Association or PUM (Persatuan Ulama Malaysia) to advise the government on Islamic issues.
There is no need for another council when we already have an ulama association that is set-up by the rakyat (people) and has more authority to speak on the issues of Islam, Fadzil told malaysiakini .
I would like to ask the government what it wants - an ulama association that is made up of the people or Umno? queried the opposition leader.
We already have an avenue to debate and search for solutions to issues affecting Muslims and the country, said Fadzil.
Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the NUCC would be established soon to provide a platform for discussing issues and conflicts affecting the Muslim community.
Abdullah said the council was proposed by the Umno supreme council at its meeting last Friday. The role of the new body would not compete or usurp the functions of the National Fatwa Council.
Avenue for ulama
Instead, he said, it would serve as an avenue for ulama to debate and search for solutions to issues affecting Muslims and the country.
Abdullah said details have not been finalised but added the NUCC will invite eminent and credible scholars and those with expertise in certain fields to serve as members.
Fadzil, who is Pendang (Kedah) member of Parliament, however charged that Umnos new proposal was meant to disunite the ulama .
He said the ulama in PUM are mostly non-partisan although there are some who are aligned to either Umno or PAS.
A PUM spokesperson, meanwhile, said the association will have to look into the details of the proposed NUCC before stating its stance.
To say that the situation is critical to warrant such a move is not true, said the spokesperson.
Anyway, we have yet to see what Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has to say about this as he has yet to approve the plan, he added.
PUM president Abdul Ghani Shamsuddin was unavailable for comment.
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