KUALA LUMPUR (June 20, 2010): The government has to take into consideration the rights of other citizens in the country and not just Muslims, when formulating laws. "You must remember that the country does not belong to the Muslims. There are things that sometimes non-Muslims do, for example, gambling. It is their culture, their way of life and we have to respect their rights," said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Aziz (pix.
"Jangan semua undang-undang berdasarkan keperluan orang Islam sahaja," said the outspoken minister who pooh-poohed the general misconception that legitimising sports betting would earn the wrath of Malay-Muslim voters who would then vote against Barisan Nasional (BN) in the next general election.
"Go and ask the non-Muslims whether it will affect their votes, not just the Muslims. Our tendency is to always think from the Muslim point of view, as if non-Muslims are not an important part of the country. We cannot be like that, we have to consider their rights," said Nazri, who was quoted by The Malaysian Insider online portal last Saturday as saying that the opposition to licensed sports betting by Pakatan Rakyat was "politically motivated and not because of Islam".
The de-facto law minister slammed Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers for using the sports betting issue as a means to gain political points among Malay voters, who have traditionally been backing Umno and BN for decades.
"Syariah (law) states that Muslims should not gamble. I agree, (there are) no two ways about that," said Nazri who disclosed that the government will execute a system which will prevent Muslims from betting.
"We can have a system that will prevent Muslims from betting, so we will install it. If you want to bet, you must give your IC, full name. If you are Muslim, then naturally you can’t place a bet."
"We can enforce it using whatever we have. But (of course) there is no 100% guarantee that we can stop it (Muslims from betting)," said the Padang Rengas MP.
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussein had on May 6 said the government was considering legalising sports betting to curb illegal gambling.
Echoing Nazri's view today was Umno Cheras chairman Datuk Wira Syed Ali Alhabshee who called on opposition parties to stop politicising the matter and "confusing the rakyat."
"This (gaming) is the culture of non-Muslims, so why try to politicise this issue? We have Genting (casino) and 4D (lottery) outlets even in their states. They (opposition run states) are also collecting the taxes for their own use," he said after the opening of the Umno Cheras annual assembly today.
"There is also licence for liquor in Kelantan. The Muslims don’t drink but non-Muslims do so you cannot stop (them). I don’t see any reason why they want to politicise this thing," said Syed Ali.
"Here the federal government is trying to legalise it for non-Muslims… we are talking about 1Malaysia so you cannot stop other people from gaming," he said, stressing that the division was not encouraging sports betting
"We’re not supporting. As a Muslim it’s haram (illegal) to gamble. There is no compromise on that but we cannot stop other races (from gaming). It is their culture," said Syed Ali, adding that what is important is for the government to have strict regulations to curb sports betting among the Muslims. -- theSun
This article is from Vincent Tan's newspaper. So it is biased. Secondly, Nazri is a bloody ass.
ReplyDelete