Religious extremists - do they really care?

What do they really care about?

By TAY TIAN YAN
Translated by SOONG PHUI JEE
Sin Chew Daily

I have no doubt of PAS' ruling objective.

Son of PAS spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, rising star Pasir Mas MP Nik Abduh Nik Aziz wrote on his Facebook, "The flood is a reminder to all Muslims to return to Allah’s ways and stay away from His wrath. It necessitates the perseverance of the Kelantan government to implement hudud laws."

The remarks brought us back to the theocracy era before the Middle Age.

In that era, humans were useful. Human lives were as little as ant's lives and to survive, they must rely on God's mercy.

However, how did humans know whether God wanted them to live or die?

Then there was a group of people, who might be kings or priests, said,"My power comes from God and I speak on behalf of God, so you must listen to me."

They said it was God's decree when they wanted others to go to war, or serve as slaves.

In short, humans were not allowed to think or doubt as all were God's arrangement. If you did not follow or dared to oppose, then God would punish you.

I thought that today, a thousand years later, theocracy has become a part of myth. The enlightenment of human history has turned human minds from ignorance into rationality, while human's ability and values have been retrieved.

Subsequently, humans began to study science, to understand the world. Humans also started to learn humanities, to enhance the meaning of life.

This is what we called civilisation.

Today, PAS wishes to erase the process of human civilisation and return to the era of theocracy.

It wants to implement the hudud law and thus, it said that floods are a sign from God that the hudud law agenda must go on.

For them, floods are unrelated to climate change, environmental deterioration, as well as soil and water conservation.

They did not see how floods destroyed homes of many people, how victims are suffering hunger and cold, as well as illness, injuries and death.

They see and care only about hudud law. They can give up everything to implement hudud law. The massive floods became reasonable, tolerable and even necessary.

They have erased human's knowledge, omitted thinking, removed rationality and abandoned humanity.

Did Nik Abdul attend school and learn geography? Does he know anything about the northeast monsoon? Has he ever read newspapers, watched TV and surfed the Internet? Does he has any ideas about El Nino, global warming and climate anomalies?

Doesn't he know that logging activities have been crazily carried out in Lojing Highlands, Kelantan over the past 10 years? The state government has uncontrollably issued logging licences while taking no legal actions against illegal logging?

According to an investigation report by an environmental protection group, Lojing Highlands has suffered a more serious degree of damage compared to Cameron Highlands. If Cameron Highlands' condition is considered serious and must be saved immediately, Lojing Highlands must then be admitted to the ICU.

If Lojing Highlands has not suffered such damages, would the condition in Gua Musang and Kuala Krai be so serious today?

Nik Abdul and his supporters do not seem to care about these. All they care is just hudud law. They never asked what measures have the Kelantan state government taken to prevent floods, stop environmental degradation and improve drainage system.

I do not doubt at all that PAS is determined to implement the hudud law, even if the floods drown Kelantan, or the whole Malaysia.

Because they said that it it God's will.

True and right to say - Religious extremists cannot rule or should not be allowed to rule. Their sick mentality will bring hardship and suffering to the people just like IS is doing in the territories they occupy. If we talk about religion then we can say that Kelantan is worst hit by the floods is because they support terrorism - they gave USD50,000 to Hamas (a terrorist org.) and they supported IS - making a ex PAS member who became an IS fighter who was killed in Syria a martyr. They could even be supporting the Muslim militants who murder innocent people in S. Thailand.