COMMENT | When I checked into a hotel in Muar some years ago, the room number was the same as my car plate - 8017. I don't usually buy the 4-Digit lottery but this was too good a sign to ignore. Sure enough, I struck a consolation prize!

Now, I don’t wish to promote gambling. But who the heck is PAS to tell me that I can't harvest my luck when I encounter such amazing situations (occasionally)? Or when a wise old man with a long white beard tells me, in a dream, of certain numbers?

I respect the fact that Muslims are not allowed to gamble. But that doesn’t mean that PAS should impose Islamic values on non-Muslims.

I once read on WhatsApp: If someone tells us, “My religion says I cannot eat ice cream.” Okay sure, we respect that, please go ahead and follow your beliefs.

But that’s very different from saying, “My religion says YOU cannot eat ice cream.” That’s forcing your beliefs on others, even though Islam specifically says, “Tiada paksaan dalam agama.” (There is no compulsion in religion.)

It’s like Hindu fundamentalists in India preventing Muslims there from slaughtering cows and eating beef because they believe cows are holy animals. If Muslim Malaysians don’t agree with what’s happening in India, why do they want to impose similar restrictions on non-Muslims...