“Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”?

- L Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

COMMENT | I really did not want to write another article relating to that Indian import Zakir Naik, but the attacks by the far right elements from the Malay establishment against Penang Deputy Chief Minister P Ramasamy are just another example of why this idea of a “new Malaysia” is a farce.

I have no idea why Ramasamy would agree to meet Perlis mufti Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin to sort out their disagreements over that alleged criminal seeking safety on our shores.

As usual what the Malay/Muslim far right have done is make the issue about the “other” instead of the alleged criminality of their brethren. The issue has become about Ramasamy and his alleged links with a “terrorist” organisation instead of about a wanted man and why this country grants him not only asylum but also the respect normally accorded to a world-renowned religious scholar.

A meeting with this dubious preacher who has displayed the usual religious and racist bigotry when it comes to non-Muslims in this country legitimises the lies spewed by the corrupt religious establishment in this country against Ramasamy.

I was never on the bandwagon when this Perlis mufti was the darling of the then opposition. Asri has the ability to say one thing to appear “moderate” and another to satisfy his religious base. As far as I’m concerned, his performance at the Suhakam inquiry and his feeble response to Siti Kassim’s onslaught on his appreciation of such a terrorist as Abu Bakar Al-Baghdadi is demonstrates the kind of person that Asri is....