PAS PRESIDENT ABDUL HADI AWANG LEADING AGITATION
Leading the agitation against the royal households is PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, a right-wing cleric who resides in the east coast Terengganu state under PAS.
After Terengganu’s Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin issued a decree through the state’s religious council, banning the spread of political messages and activities at Muslim places of worship, Abdul Hadi appeared at the pulpit several days later to deliver his weekly sermon after Friday midday prayers at the Rusila mosque in the town of Marang, where he is also the elected parliamentary representative.
In Terengganu, political leaders and activists are not allowed to lead and deliver Friday sermons in mosques as well as deliver religious talks without the state religious council’s permission.
The bulk of Abdul Hadi’s sermon early last month was not political in nature. However, the PAS leader mentioned how “Allah has shown us in all aspects (of life) on how to (do things) … and (taught us) how to govern a country”.
Last week, his son Muhammad Khalil, took Abdul Hadi’s place at the Rusila mosque in another apparent contravention of the ruler’s diktat.
There have been no other reports of PAS leaders flouting the rules in Selangor, Perak and Johor, where similar decrees have been issued. There has also been no response from the royal households or the Malaysian authorities over the actions of the PAS leaders.
There is, however, strong speculation that the country’s sultans could convene a special rulers’ conference after the fasting month of Ramadan to discuss their growing concerns over the growing trend on the use of religion by hardline Islamic clerics in politics.
Police reports have already been lodged against Abdul Hadi, who also served as Terengganu’s chief minister between 1999 and 2004, by politicians from Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ruling Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition for defying the royal decree over bringing politics into mosques and prayer halls.
According to local media reports, Abdul Hadi has stated that it was a politician’s responsibility to deliver religious lectures in mosques and suraus, adding that he will continue to give ceramahs there “as usual”. “We have to understand … when we talk about Islam, we cannot separate politics from religion,” he reportedly said.