Malaysian politics: Wising up to fragile situation

This is such a timely interview, >> Wising up to fragile situation I think Star should forward this straight to the Government, and the Opposition, and then pray they will read and ponder....

Some of his keen observations:

• It is a fragile situation because anyone who is a bit of a populist and knows how to play with emotions can play the identity politics in a very bad way and drive this country into division.
• He sees contradictions as parties try to be inclusive and open up to society (especially non-Muslims) as this can attract voters for the election but at the same time, there is an opposing move which is the “narrowing down of the religion” and “reducing it to symbols”.
• He says when people play with such symbols, the media is quick to jump on it and create controversy on the issue of whether we can use the word “Allah” or not and this is not a good thing for the country.
• Another problem Dr Tariq has noticed is that when Malaysian students study Islam in Arab countries where there are literalists, they “come back with not only Islamic principles but also an Arab way to deal with the Islamic principles” and they try to project that culture here.“It is important for Malaysia to celebrate their culture and not to think that because you are an Arab, you are a better Muslim. It should come from something which is within

The whole column is worth reading slowly, and Dr Tariq who is the grandson of Hassan al-Banna, one of the founder members of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, says that Malaysia is in  a fragile situation given its religious and ethnic mix, and the nation needs WISE politicians, courageous religious leaders and a dose of good luck to continue its path of stability and peace.

If only our politicians will understand.