Deepavali wishes don't make me lesser Muslim, Rafizi says in Tamil via AI

As racial and religious fissures continue to widen in Malaysia due to divisive politics, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has turned to artificial intelligence (AI) to rebuild bridges.

In a video posted on Instagram this evening, the PKR deputy president experimented with AI voice technology to extend his Deepavali greetings in Tamil.

At the same time, Rafizi explained that Muslims should not refrain from extending their wishes to those celebrating religious festivals.

“Some may ridicule that a Muslim from Malaysia is extending his Deepavali wishes. Others might be worried that doing so would make me a lesser Muslim.

“However, Islam encourages us to extend our wishes for celebrations of other faiths based on friendship.

“As long as we do not participate in religious activities, we can partake in open houses and celebrations just like how non-Muslims can attend our open houses without taking part in the prayers,” he added.

Rafizi pointed out that friendship is one of the most basic and important human relationships.

“We should encourage the sharing of joy during important festive seasons… The lesser we fear and feel resentment towards others, the more human we become,” he added.

The minister said that if this experiment is successful, he will use lip sync to synchronise his speech with the voice.

“Rate and comment if the voice sounds similar to mine,” he added.

No to making enemies based on looks

Last Friday, Rafizi censured Perak PAS commissioner Razman Zakaria for stoking racial sentiments with his infamous “eyes, skin and blood” remark.

“In this day and age, it is easy to stoke ethnic sentiments to garner the people’s support, especially in the name of defending Islam.

“This is despite Islam never teaching us to make enemies based on the size of our eyes, the colour of our skin, or the colour of our blood,” he said.

Razman is being investigated over the remark during his speech in Teluk Intan, Perak on Oct 26 at a counter-demonstration against an incident where China’s national flag was flown by Chinese delegates of the International Guan Gong Cultural Festival two days earlier.

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