Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah
KUCHING: PBB Supreme Council member Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has asked state DAP chairman Chong Chieng Jen to do a little research before commenting on Islam and Islamic teaching in Sarawak.
Abdul Karim, who is Assistant Minister of Housing, was lambasting Chong over his statement that the 433 Peninsular Malaysian Islamic religious teachers to be brought in to teach in Sarawak would be bringing in their version of Islamic teaching and indoctrinate children in the state with the Umno-version of Islamic teaching and further cause racial segregation.
“Before commenting on Islam and Islamic teaching in Sarawak, it is better for Chong to do a little research on what Islam is. There is no such thing as Umno-version of Islamic teaching as what he claimed,” he said yesterday.
Abdul Karim, who is also Assistant Minister of Youth and Sports, added that this paranoid outlook as exhibited by Chong, only existed in the mind of Chong and DAP Sarawak.
According to him, Islam is a universal religion and the teaching of Islam as well as Islamic studies are all the same anywhere in the world.
“(Therefore), do not touch on a sensitive matter of religion and do not look down on our religion as if there is regional version or party version of Islam which Chong seemed to infer as this could arouse anger of the Muslims in Sarawak.”
Abdul Karim, who is also Asajaya assemblyman, said it is better for Chong to shut his mouth when dealing with sensitive matters like religion, where he is an ‘alien’ to it, as this could affect the multi-racial and multi-religious harmony in Sarawak.
On another matter, Abdul Karim told DAP and Chong to do some homework first before saying that Chief Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg’s warning to all state BN assemblypersons to perform or risk being replaced as a mere rhetoric.
He said the opposition was just good in making noises, which was why voters knew they were not capable of solving their problems.
“We have seen many elections in Sarawak. The fact that in every election contested, the voters voted for BN shows that the people are happy with BN and the candidates that BN placed in those constituencies. Is DAP trying to insinuate that voters are stupid when voting in BN candidates? I am sure the voters do make their assessment before they give their votes. The fact that they do not vote for the opposition, including DAP, shows that they know the opposition are just hopeless and not capable of addressing their problems, or to be the government. They are just good in making noises but not to be made people’s representative.”
Abang Johari had on last Saturday warned all state BN assemblypersons not to fail the people since the state government had allocated RM5 million for Rural Transformation Projects (RTP) to each state constituency.
Abdul Karim said he fully agreed with Abang Johari that any BN representatives who did not perform be replaced.
“This is not mere rhetoric but actually being done in every election. DAP and Chong can see that in every state or parliamentary election, many new faces are placed as candidates by BN.”
He added that this was done to replace underperforming representatives or to replace representatives who opted to retire.
“This is unlike DAP where we see the likes of personalities like Lim Kit Siang who clings on to be a YB and is almost as old as the Malaysian Parliament. To say he is performing is an overstatement. Likewise, DAP and opposition YBs in Sarawak are no different.
“Except for a few (DAP elected representatives) who are ‘active and performing’, most are in DUN (State Legislative Assembly) just to make up the numbers and making noises to the gallery and media.”