Zahid To Opposition Be Rational Stop Manipulating Quran And Religion

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Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi this evening took a potshot at the opposition, implying that they cannot change God's will by playing dirty.
In what is believed to be directed at PAS, the Umno president said politicians should not manipulate religion and give "donations" to win votes.
"Even if they think their act of giving away money was not covered by hudud (Islamic law), I would like to call the leaders not to play with the fatwa, Quran, hadith, and ijma ulama (consensus by Islamic scholars on rules).
"We must be rational in the political arena, and not play with religion and manipulate fatwa for our own personal gain.
"All their manipulations and tactical moves had finally backfired, causing them to be punished by Allah. So, even when they managed to get more (seats) than us (Umno), the party that won a smaller number of seats is now the government while they are in the opposition," he said.
Zahid was delivering his speech during a breaking of fast event organised by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry at the Seri Semarak people's housing programme in Setapak, Kuala Lumpur.
In the 15th general election last November, Perikatan Nasional which comprises Bersatu and PAS, among others, had secured 82 seats while Umno and its allies in BN only managed to get 30.
Another political bloc Pakatan Harapan won 82 seats in the polls.
As the results came with no party or coalition having a clear majority, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah then decreed for parties to form a unity government.
It saw Harapan then forming the federal administration together with BN, Sarawak's GPS and several other parties that won seats in GE15, while PN declined to join the unity government and said they would be in the opposition.
"I do not want to name any party or individuals here, but I just want to remind myself. We have been oppressed and humiliated and all kinds of accusations were thrown at us.
"But due to our patience and perseverance, the truth has finally come to light," he said.
Malacca unity govt
Meanwhile, Zahid told reporters that he had received a visit from new Malacca chief minister Rauf Ab Yusoh earlier, and was presented with a new list of exco members for the state government.
Malacca chief minister Rauf Ab YusohHe said the new line-up would also include representatives from other parties which make up the unity government at the federal level, but he did not elaborate further.
According to the deputy prime minister, Rauf also planned to appoint several deputies for some of the portfolios.
Zahid however declined to reveal more, including if the state executive council would be larger than the previous one under former chief minister Sulaiman Md Ali.
"Although BN won 21 out of 28 state seats during the last state election, which means we have more than a two-thirds majority in the state legislative assembly, we will share with our allies in the unity government.
"This is based on our spirit of unity," he said. - Mkini

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