Original article from FMT : Leave Malaysia While You Can (clickable link)
Leave Malaysia while you can, Zaid tells young Malays
Former minister says Malaysia is a 'sick Muslim country which teaches you the wrong things'.
PETALING JAYA: Calling Malaysia a “sick Muslim country”, Zaid Ibrahim today urged Muslims in the country to embrace the Islamic concept of hijrah, or the migration of the Prophet Muhammad to flee from persecution, by moving to the UK where he said their lives would be better.
“They give you the space to grow and make yourself useful. Move out while you can,” he said in his latest blog post today.
In Malaysia, Zaid said, news was classified as fake or real depending on whether or not the government liked it.
“Corruption and abuse of power are glorified, while beer festivals are held up as an example of evil.”
He was referring to the Better Beer Festival 2017, which was banned by authorities after the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) rejected the organisers’ application for a permit to host the event.
Inspector-General of Police Mohamad Fuzi Harun said on Thursday that the event was cancelled due to security reasons as the police had information that militants were planning to sabotage the festival.
The event’s organisers, MyBeer Malaysia, previously said they had been told by authorities that the beer fest was “politically sensitive”.
This followed opposition to the event by PAS, which labelled it as a “vice festival”, claiming that such events could lead to Kuala Lumpur becoming known as Asia’s vice centre.
In Malaysia, Zaid added, Muslims scholars “don’t like gays and liberals, although gays and liberals are God’s creations too”.
“They will continue to make you intellectually poor by stifling you, giving you no freedom to grow and develop your minds.
“London is the place for you to migrate to. Many Malays are already making their homes here. Bring your family out and join them.”
The former minister added that the hijrah was not a one-day celebration, but a commitment to seek a new life.
“It means seeking a place where you can find knowledge and prosperity for your family,” he said.
Although England was a “beer-loving country”, he said, it also produces well-educated men and women who contribute to science and the arts.
“They are inventors, who produce medicine, machinery, and so much more that makes life better for humanity.”
In Malaysia, meanwhile, there was no place for knowledge and scholarship, especially in matters of religion, he said.
“The people who talk about Islam in Malaysia are low-grade scholars, and many are mouthpieces of the ruling party.
“They are sycophants, not of the same calibre as the Mu’tazillah, the jurists and theologians of the Abbasiyah period who debated religious issues, such as the concept of tawhid or unity of God.
“They discussed the inherent difficulties of reconciling reason and revelation.
“They were not preoccupied with beer festivals or dress codes for women, or separate laundrettes for Muslims, although the revelry and festivities of the caliphates were well known,” he said, referring to other recent controversies including reports of a self-service launderette in Johor which has adopted a Muslim-only policy by limiting its clientele to Muslim customers.
“So I urge young Malays to plan their lives properly. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Malaysia is a sick Muslim country which teaches you the wrong things,” he said.
