2011/09/02
By Sim Bak Heng, Lee Shi-lan and Punitha Kumar
news@nst.com.my
PAGOH: Stop confusing and lying to the people. Distorting historical facts is a
sin and Pas deputy president Mohamad Sabu should repent and return to the right path.
In issuing this advice, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said he was disappointed that Mohamad had misled the people and caused confusion and unhappiness.
"If he is a leader of the Islamic faith, he should have known the consequences of making such a statement.
"Islam clearly forbids one from lying and divine punishment awaits those who fail to follow the fatwa. He should know that while there are rewards (pahala) in Islam, there are also sins (dosa) and punishment," he said at his Hari Raya open house at Kompleks Pakembar here on the second day of Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Mohamad, or Mat Sabu as he is known, had allegedly said the 25 policemen who defended the Bukit Kepong police station, Umno founder Datuk Onn Jaafar and the country's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, were "British officers".
It was also reported in Utusan Malaysia that he allegedly said Muhammad Indera, who helped the communists in the Bukit Kepong attack, was the real hero, not the 25 policemen and their family members who defended the station.
Muhyiddin, who is Umno deputy president, said the fact that Mohamad denied making the statement showed that he was trying to play psychological games. However, he said he was not sure if Mohamad's stand reflected that of other Pas leaders.
"Some people say he made the statement to gain political support. But he will be subjected to divine punishment for what he has done. If this is what Pas is going to use from now, then it is surely a case of 'religious abuse '. If you do the wrong thing, people will know. He should repent and return to the right path." There were more calls for Mohamad to retract his statement and apologise, with Puteri Umno chief Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin labelling him as irresponsible and disrespectful to the families of the Bukit Kepong heroes.
"He should realise that had it not been for the sacrifices of our freedom fighters, he and his family would not have been able to enjoy the country's peace." Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said Mohamad's statement reflected politics of extremism to draw attention to himself and his party as they could be desperate for victory in the next general election.
Wan Junaidi, who is also president of the Malaysian Ex-Policemen's Association (Sarawak), was a former policeman who fought the communists between 1969 and 1973 and helped set up the Rajang Area Security Command (Rascom) in Sibu.
He said any idea that the communists were freedom fighters should be discarded.
Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin tweeted that the police officers during the pre-independence days were working under British rule but were safeguarding Malaysians.
Mohamad was also criticised in blogs and on video-sharing website YouTube where the clip was viewed more than 23,000 times.
Mohamad has, meanwhile, decided to keep mum and only said he would meet his lawyers to discuss legal action against Utusan Malaysia for the "distorted and false" reporting of his ceramah at Tasek Gelugor, Penang, on Aug 21.
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