COMMENT | “We will discuss it further, but the thing is, it is an art form,” – Wan Azizah

This idea that khat has nothing to do with religion, that it is merely an art form meant to instill some sort of “appreciation” and handwriting skill in young children is bunkum.

The government and various politicians' rejoinders that the politicization of this issue is merely a symptom of “old Malaysia” is in fact a tactic of Old Malaysia now redeployed to ensure compliance from a Harapan base, with the threat that the old Malaysia would return if certain sensitivities are not observed.

Claiming that khat has nothing to do with religion is mendacious. Khat and religion in this country are not mutually exclusive. Perhaps it is elsewhere, but not in this country.