YOURSAY 'Now who is going to feed the families of those who have lost their jobs, including those who depend on tourist arrivals for their income?

Resort workers' future in limbo following surau issue

Wira: An investor (the ‘Buddhist surau' owner) pulls out his money. The instigators and religious authorities are happy. They have won, including the minister who pulled the plug on the permanent residency of that Muslim Singaporean.

Now who is going to feed the families of those who have lost their jobs, including those who depend on tourist arrivals for their income?

The worst fear of any investor is to be locked up for a ‘crime' that is not universally recognised.

CiViC: If the local authorities are so adamant that stern action should be taken, then please do so with the Buddhist group which utilised the surau, not the person who allowed it.

Yes, the resort owner's decision may not be the best, but the actual persons who had allegedly injured or defiled the place of worship with intent to insult the religion is not him.

He is being victimised just because he is an easy target. This is common practice with Malaysian authorities.

Gen2: Having an income to feed and school your children is very relevant in these times. All these were irrelevant to the religious authorities when they made their decisions.

Of course, they will tell you they will not compromise on religion. They get a regular monthly paycheck. The villagers have no guaranteed paychecks. Maybe the authorities are making themselves irrelevant.

Condocows: The affected villagers should demonstrate to voice their disapproval against moronic idiots who fight imaginary threats to Islam. Otherwise, they should just keep quiet and swallow the stupidity and let their businesses go bankrupt.

Truth Really Hurts: The Umnoputras don't give a crap about the locals affected by the trouble created by those idiots. All they want is cheap publicity and a channel to show off their power and authority. Yes, this is the best of Bodohland.

Wira: "First they came for the communists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a communist. Then they came for the socialists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a socialist.

"Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn't speak out because I wasn't a trade unionist.

"Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me." - Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892-1984).

The fault lies with those who chose to remain silent even though their livelihoods would eventually be affected.

Anonymous #63753867: Singapore's former PM Lee Kuan Yew was right - at the stroke of a pen, the Umno government can take back everything. Singaporeans must be rethinking their investments in Malaysia/Iskandar Development Region.

Fair Play: Lessons to be learned. A classical example of the law of unintended consequences.

Dr M has 'different ideas' about surau demolition

Ferdtan: Mahathir cares more for a dead property than a living person. That is compassion of one Muslim to another, not forgetting he was an ex-prime minister of a country. He is against demolishing the surau but had no pity on a fellow human being to throw him out of the country.

Mahathir, do you know by revoking resort owner's PR (permanent resident status), he will be in financial ruin? He and his family, including his children, will suffer as a consequence. Play politics by all means but don't make an innocent man who had no part in your politics suffer.

The resort owner had made an honest mistake, that is all. Mahathir, we would have expected a man of your age who would meet your Maker sooner than most of us should be more compassionate.

You have just lost some credit points with your God with this hardened view on punishing the resort owner.

Hang Tuah PJ: Every Muslim starts his prayer with the Arabic phrase "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim" which is said to contain the true essence of the entire Quran, as well as the true essence of all religions.

Muslims also often say this phrase when embarking on any significant endeavour, and the phrase is considered by some to be a major pillar of Islam. This expression is so magnificent and so concise that all but one chapter of the Quran begins with the words "Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim".

The common translation is "In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate". Many Muslim Malaysians have failed to capture either the true depth of meaning or the inspirational message of this beautiful phrase.

Democracy: I was at Mahathir's Aidilfitri open house function in Seri Kembangan on Sunday and the majority of the well-wishers were Chinese. The question that come to my mind is, if the Chinese were so against Dr M and Umno, why did they come in droves to the event?

We know that they, mostly from Selangor, did not vote for BN. Were they there for the free food? I thought so.

But what is so disgusting is to see them greedily 'tapau' (packed away) food in plastic containers and even in plastic bags to bring home. I manage to snap a few photographs but I will not show them. I do not want to shame them any more.

Slumdog: To revoke the PR of the owner of the resort is a gross overreaction by the home minister. It appears to be a simple case of oversight, or at worst, poor judgement on the part of the resort owner.

The government has now destroyed his livelihood, his business, his investment and taken away his contribution to the local economy and employment in the community.

It does not appear to be a premeditated act by the resort owner to insult, cause hurt or offend the sensitivities of Muslims but simply inadvertently allowed his Buddhist guests to use the surau for their prayers.

Where is the religious tolerance, racial harmony and inclusiveness that PM Najib Razak continually preaches under 1Malaysia? And planning to destroy the surau is harsh, heavy-handed and unnecessary.

Way: I hope the government will not over-react on this surau issue. It has created disunity among Malaysians of different religions, and now it has also created fear among investors.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .