'Why is it okay for Sanusi to enjoy karaoke but not K'tan public?'

Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng has taken aim at the PAS ulama council for giving its seal of approval to Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor partaking in karaoke activities.

He said the recent statement by ulama council chief Ahmad Yahaya clearly exposes double standards within the party.

“While Ahmad claims karaoke is permissible under Islamic law, the state of Kelantan, which is governed by PAS, has banned all karaoke businesses.

“This inconsistency raises an obvious question: Why is it okay for PAS leaders like Sanusi to enjoy karaoke, but regular people in Kelantan can’t?

“It’s a blatant case of hypocrisy,” said Lim (above) in a statement today.

Ahmad yesterday said he had been friends with Sanusi for a long time and that there was no element of sin in what the latter had done.

The DAP lawmaker said that PAS talks about upholding strict religious values, but when it comes to their own leaders, those rules seem to loosen up.

“On the one hand, PAS leaders defend karaoke as long as it doesn’t conflict with Islamic law, but on the other, they impose a blanket ban on the same activity for the public in Kelantan.

“This isn’t just about karaoke - it reflects a deeper issue of double standards within PAS. The party seems quick to enforce restrictions on ordinary citizens while allowing its own leaders to act outside those limits.

“If PAS wants to be credible and maintain public trust, they need to stop preaching one thing and doing another,” he said.

A party can’t expect to be taken seriously if it continues to impose rules on others that it isn’t willing to follow itself, he added.

Morals and discipline

The issue cropped up during the recent PAS muktamar when a Perlis delegate Mohd Saifizi Saidon slammed the party’s leadership for allegedly failing to monitor the quality of leaders and menteris besar in the states led by the party.

He said the morals and fundamentals of Islamic leadership have been neglected compared to the past when PAS was strict in regulating its leadership, including participation in karaoke activities.

According to the delegate, PAS used to be strict in enforcing its discipline, such as in the case of former Parit MP Hashim Gera who was sacked from the party in 1972 for dancing.

“But today, we can see some leaders (indulging in) karaoke singing and his behaviour was defended by PAS ulama.

“Even sadder, there have been incidents where a (male) PAS leader shook hands with women with impunity. This happened not once but many times,” he said.

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