YOURSAY | ‘What about swimming pools? And the chairs we sit on and the utensils we eat from?’

Muslim-only laundrette: Preacher claims he did not mention Johor ruler

David Dass: This just gives you an idea of the kind of learning and experiences Muslim preacher Zamihan Mat Zin has.

Clothes are laundered because they are dirty. And the purpose of washing them is to remove the dirt, whatever the source.

All humans will be exposed to the elements and matter in the environment that will soil their clothes. So, soap, water and the tumbling tubs of laundering machines will cleanse them and render them dirt-free.

Will faecal matter, dog saliva or the sweat of a pork-eating person linger in the machines? Should a good Hindu worry if the guy who used the laundry machine before him eats beef? And should all worry if belacan-eating persons frequented the laundry?

If the machine is well-maintained and the laundrette a good one, there should be no problem. Water and soap will do the trick.

What is wonderful about this controversy is the fact that it makes people think about things they would never otherwise think and worry about. It has made me worry.

Will my clothes be washed in a machine that was used by a paedophile or rapist or murderer or drug addict or alcoholic? And if so, will the residue of whatever resided in his clothing stay in the machine and taint my clothes and in some way, influence my behaviour?

This could go on and then we could all become like Michael Jackson and breathe from oxygen tanks and walk around with dust masks. And perhaps we could wear paper clothes which we throw away after a single use.

The possibilities and permutations are endless. What about public swimming pools? And eating places? And the chairs we sit on and the utensils we eat from? I actually sometimes have serious concerns about how clean they are. Some of my friends will actually clean the utensils with tissue.

Life as we know it has changed forever.

Myviews: Zamihan, if you were not referring to Johor sultan, then which sultan were you referring to then?

As far as everyone knows, it was the Johor sultan who said, “this is no Taliban state.” And you want to play smart that you did not mention any sultan by name?

According to you, non-Muslims are dirty because they handle dogs (or even eat pork?) and as such, their clothes would be contaminated.

If that's the case, money – whether they are coins or notes – are also handled by non-Muslims.

Léon Moch: In the law of defamation, the act of referring to someone not by name by all description that can only fit that person, it is the same as referring to the person by name.

Zamihan mentioned a sultan in Malaysia – that narrows it down to nine rulers. He then mentioned that this particular sultan is against the Muslims-only laundrette and who said that this is not a Taliban state.

There is only one sultan who said that – the Sultan of Johor. The stupidity of this man led him to think he can slander anyone as much as he wants so long as he doesn't mention names. How mistaken he is.

Anonymous 44498148855397: Isn't lying and deception a sin in Islam, too? Does it not make you unclean?

6th Generation Immigrant: Whether or not Zamihan insulted the sultan, whether or not he works for the government and whether or not he has a strong following, what is most dangerous is the capacity of this man's religious intellectuality to confuse citizens.

How did he qualify for his post and who approved his role as a preacher and based on what, whose and which criteria?

If we can have false doctors and dentists practising in this country, if we can have false university degrees, what’s to say this man is not one of those? False prophets are aplenty of late – a sign of the end of days are around the corner?

Hplooi: Look at the comments of Umno trolls and you see the true mindset of Umno, viz.,

1) Chinese/DAP/non-Muslims are unclean.

2) The citizens of Malaysia are not all equal. Reason due to (1) above.

3) The “hating” is the fault of Chinese/ DAP/ non-Muslims. Never mind that non-Muslims have been time and again flamed, insulted, called unclean, evil (because non-Muslims do not hold to their version of truth espoused only by them, ergo they must be evil, godless or satanic).

4) The Chinese/ DAP/ non-Muslims “menghina Islam” (malign Islam) never mind that secularism, belonging to another religion, or having different political views, is not about putting down other religions.

5) Questioning religious leaders is akin to questioning God (a Salafist/ Wahhabist interpretation of Islam) and hence criminalised as anti-Islam.

The scary thing is they really believe in this nihilist claptrap (viz., repudiation of civilisational dialogue with the argument that the rest of civilisation do not have anything useful for their brand of autarchic Islamism).

Repeat, ordinary Muslims who deemed themselves mainstream may think this does not affect them and therefore they need not do anything – think again, as the future consequences will be equally dire for them too.

R: Extreme fanaticism has reared its ugly head over the last two decades because of poor government control on many Islamic institutions which have had a free hand to teach and interpret Islamic teachings in different ways.

As a result, there are many preachers now who forget that we live a society of different religions and races and cause deliberate misunderstanding, disharmony and disrespect to others, including moderate Muslims.

Falcon: A religious preacher and servant of God is supposed to be learned and wise to the way and true teaching of God.

Thank God, we have video recordings of Zamihan’s speech.

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