The conservative political dialogue being pushed by certain quarters is a red herring that is distracting from more important issues, said scholar Maszlee Malik.

"They want to distract from bread and butter issues, issues of corruption, integrity, and empowerment," Maszlee said at a forum in Petaling Jaya last night.

When met later, Maszlee clarified that he did not mean those who pushed a conservative agenda, including to strengthen Islamic criminal laws, were insincere.

"Sincerity is something we can't see. But what I meant by red herring is, these issues are swaying (the discourse) away from the bigger issues, even Islamic issues such as integrity and corruption," he told Malaysiakini.

The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) professor was speaking at a forum on the politicisation of Islam organised by Gerakbudaya...