A Friday sermon calling for support for free tertiary education in Malaysia at a Selangor mosque yesterday left some of the congregation uneasy.

According to committee chairperson of Surau al-Falah in Taman Cempaka, Pandan Indah, Ishak Darus, some members of the congregation had complained that the sermon was too political.

"We have decided not to invite the khatib (the person who delivers the sermon) anymore.

"He has delivered sermons here before and they were fine, but today maybe he was a little carried away," he said when contacted.

islam religion muslim 1 Ishak said the khatib, who is a penceramah bebas (freelance speaker) had said that many countries around the world provide free education, and government that fails to do so is a cruel one.

"He talked about the lack of scholarships, and basically alluded to the PTPTN (student loan) issue," he said.

He added that the khatib was provided with the guideline approved by the Islamic Development Department (Jakim) but had chosen to use his own text, as he had done on previous occasions when he spoke there.

According to Jakim's website, the khutbah yesterday should have been on the importance of supporting the royal institution, in conjunction with the Agong's installation on Wednesday.

'Enemies of Islam'

Jakim's text calls for Muslims to unite under the Agong and not fall prey to "parties who try to break up the ummah by seeking freedoms which go against human norms".

"(They) question what is stated in the Federal Constitution and support the enemies of Islam. Why? This happens when some Muslims trade in their dignity, religion and race for personal and ideological gains.

"They are willing to abet those who question (human norms) purportedly to defend human rights. Those who support Islam's enemies are also enemies of Islam," it read.

It continued that such Muslims are enemies of Islam because they have allowed their thoughts and actions to be controlled by their wants.

"Muslims will face abject misery in their own country if they lose integrity and become the tools of others," it read.