KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 7 — PAS Youth chief Khairil Nizam Khirudin today said MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran’s remarks recently that there are members of the Islamist party who supports terrorist is merely baseless accusations.
On December 3, Vigneswaran while commenting on the controversy surrounding the demolition of a Hindu temple in Kedah last Tuesday had said that PAS should be banned as there are claims of some of them being linked to terrorists.
In a statement today, Khairil said Vigneswaran should not have lashed out against PAS, and questioned why, as the leader of the Indians and Hindus, the latter had not sought a solution to the problem beforehand.
“MIC President, Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran does not need to be rash and show his anger towards PAS to the point of accusing the party of defending terrorists abroad on the basis of Islam. If he is confident that is the truth and has dignity as a politician, then he should name those that he labelled as terrorists.
“Until today, PAS has never expressed support or sympathy for any terrorist group, even among Muslims, and insists on rejecting any form of violence against any individual. PAS is committed to bringing peace, unity and harmony through mutual respect and the upholding of the law,” he said.
Khairil said the demolition of the temple had only taken place after much deliberation.
“The step taken by the Mentri Besar (MB) of Kedah, Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor was made to fulfil legal requirements enshrined in the law.
“The question is, why did MIC, as the party claiming to be influential among Indians and Hindus, not act accordingly and lead a solution to the problem for so long? Where is the axis of law if MIC is a legitimate organisation and its people do not comply with existing rules?
“Or does MIC want to claim a special privilege which is free from the relevant legislation? Certainly it is improper and emotional, when all religious affairs in any part of the world go hand in hand with the governance of the country.
“The fact is that those who refuse to submit to the law are more appropriately labeled as terrorists and going beyond religion,” he said.
On December 2, Free Malaysia Today (FMT) reported that in response to MIC’s reaction towards the temple’s demolition, Muhammad Sanusi said MIC should be banned if it incites people to break the law.
The next day, FMT reported Vigneswaran as saying: “If defending the rights of our community can be considered instigation, then PAS should be banned, judging from the number of demonstrations they have held on international issues and claims of some of them being linked to terrorist.”