YOURSAY ‘Nik Abduh truly has the logic of a Taliban and the IS.’

 

Stop glorifying elections, says PAS MP

David Dass: Local elections would ensure that the people pick the best individuals to represent their interests. Democracy is about free and fair elections.

 

Unfortunately we are stuck with our preoccupation with race and do not believe that local elections will work best for all. PAS' concerns however must be addressed. Parties should examine the issue.

 

Will local elections result in the Malays not being represented? Will their interests be prejudiced?

 

The manifesto of each party should make clear that social justice is the aim of each party. If for historical or cultural reasons certain groups are not adequately represented in the retail trade or in the professions or in the civil service or police and armed forces, then every effort should be made to redress these imbalances.

 

We will never have peace and stability if all races, including the Orang Asli, are not brought to the forefront of human development.

 

The silent majority cannot remain silent anymore. We must remember that the constitution represents our best chance for survival. It is a compromise. And the Islam that is being propagated by the extremists, is not the Islam that our founding fathers practiced.

 

Among the Malays, there was a balance between Malay ‘adat’ and Islamic tenets. Many of the extremists in our midst are trying to transport an extreme form of militant Islam into Malaysia.

 

Look at the nations of the Middle East. None are democracies. None have democratic institutions or processes. None, except Jordan, respect the rights of minorities. None enjoy the peace we enjoy here. We do not want to go that way.

 

Slumdog: When does a democratic process like local government elections, not guarantee justice? At best, this is an illogical, spurious and fear-instilling comment.

 

The hidden agenda by Pasir Mas MP Nik Abduh Nik Mat is the great fear that non-Malays will be elected and form the majority in the local government.

 

No doubt, such an outcome would be unthinkable and an affront to Islam, their race and their sensitivities.

 

Pemerhati: Quote: “Nik Abduh claimed that justice was achieved during Prophet Muhammad’s era, the caliphate and during monarchies like that under the Umayyad caliph Umar Abdul Aziz’s reign - all without elections”.

 

The Islamic State (IS) leaders, who have taken control of vast areas in Iraq, also want to set up a caliphate. These IS leaders have attracted worldwide attention because of their cruelty and brutality and in massacring men, women and children who do not belong to or subscribe to their brand of religion.

 

They have demonstrated to the world that their caliphate model is essentially a cruel and bloodthirsty religious dictatorship. There will of course be people who will say that they do not represent Islam, etc.

 

But any form of government that does not allow all its citizens to have a say in selecting the leadership is some sort of a dictatorship. Nik Abduh obviously is advocating some sort of religious dictatorship.

 

Anonymous #19098644: How ignorant can this person be. Using his flawed logic, he should step down as MP because national elections do not result in justice either. Nik Abduh, you are but a shadow of your father, unworthy of his legacy.

 

The Analyser: This ridiculous statement should be taken as a wake-up call to all those naive people who praise PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat for no other reason than that he is "good" and  “a man of God" without taking into account his performance in Kelantan and his obvious failure as a father.

 

Malaysian Born: There are enough bad examples of so-called religious councils which negate the people’s vote and act as arbiters of who may run for office. Power is all these characters want under the guise of religion.

 

We will stick to our flawed democracy and our polls, thank you very much. We will work hard to improve it. We need no overlords.

 

Odysseus: Nik Abduh is seriously confused. How can he guarantee the people that the consultative council is staffed with the wisest and fairest people in this country?

 

Secondly, if he thinks elections are not the best mean to deliver justice, why did he stand for election when he knew there is futile? He probably forgot that PAS deployed thousands of supporters to join the Bersih rally.

 

Myrights: Nik Abduh truly has the logic of a Taliban and the IS. If not elections, then what? Dictatorship?

 

Elections ensure we return the power to the people and only the most suitable and qualified candidates who can best represent the people are elected. PAS is getting worse by the day. These ulama types need to be kicked back to the Stone Age.

 

Appum: PAS, as I said it before, why don't you make your goal to turn Kelantan into an absolutely Islamic state? Fight for that ultimate goal you all so feverishly desire for.

 

There you can have your hudud, Islamic democracy, whatever you want to implement. Have your own economy, your own system of FDIs (foreign direct investments). Don't expect any help from the federal government. You can run your own show. Let us see how well you do.

 

Why waste your good energy defending your Islam, your hudud, your Islamic democracy against the other thinking Malaysians? Have a paradigm shift and fight for an exclusive Islamic state so that no other infidels can cramp your style.

 

Hot Khong: Nik Abduh, the last time I heard about PAS was when your president, Abdul Hadi Awang, vetoed the decisions made by the Pakatan presidential council that Hadi sent his deputy to attend on his behalf.

 

And the way you're describing the caliphs' justice, it appears that you don't subscribe to democracy. Malaysia is a democratic country, duh.

 

JooGuan: Shifting the goal posts again. Why should local elections be equated with justice? Local election is part of the essence of the democratic system.

 

It is the lowest level of governance which allows the people to manage issues and make decisions affecting them.

 

After 50-plus years of claiming to be a democratic country, unfortunately there is little knowledge inside the skulls of these party leaders. I hope the other leaders in the party who have a better grip of the concept, has a good plan to get out of this mess.

 

Anonnona: Since it is not necessary to have polls, state and national polls should also be abolished. PAS should dissolve itself immediately and become an NGO and just let BN continue to rule Malaysia forever.

 

Cocomomo: Read between the lines; after PAS comes to power, no more elections.

 

It’s time for Malaysians to wake up and reject such extremism before it is accidentally placed in power. Pakatan should quickly reassess and move forward - without PAS.


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 .

These comments are compiled to reflect the views of Malaysiakini subscribers on matters of public interest. Malaysiakini does not intend to represent these views as fact.