PAS Youth not budging

SIRA HABIBU
PETALING JAYA: PAS Youth wants the Subang Jaya Municipal Council to uphold its decision to bar Muslims from working in places that sell liquor although there is pressure from DAP leaders to overturn the ruling.

Movement chief Nasrudin Hassan claimed the state executive council has no jurisdiction to overturn decisions made at full council meetings.


He was responding to an order to the municipal council by Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu to retract its decision to enforce the Selangor Syariah Criminal Enactment 1995, which bars Muslims from working in premises selling liquor.

The order on Saturday came barely 24 hours after Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim announced a fund to help those displaced by the ban.

Liu had said the ban, while resulting in people losing their jobs, could also cause the affected outlets to close shop.

He claimed that the implementation of the ban would throw the state and country into chaos if other councils decide to follow suit.

Nasrudin said it was the duty of the PAS Youth wing to explain the matter so that the critics understood Islam better.

“I am confident no person is so foolish as to reject anything that is good and beneficial,” said Nasrudin, adding that PAS Youth would educate non-Muslim elected representatives from Pakatan Rakyat regarding Islamic jurisdiction and jurisprudence.

“We have a big role to play to awaken Muslims, educate non-Muslims and emphasise collective responsibility in a multi-racial setting with Islam as the official religion,” he said.

Nasrudin asked Selangor PAS Youth to hold one-on-one meetings with sceptical Pakatan leaders.
“Furthermore, the council is merely enforcing the Syariah criminal law, which was passed in Selangor 15 years ago,” he said.

Nasrudin said he agreed with a suggestion by Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad that the authorities must first create halal job opportunities (for affected workers) to bring them out of a haram environment.

“However, we must support the stand taken by the municipal council and executive councillor Datuk Dr Hasan Ali to remind fellow Muslims not to make a living out of non-halal sources,” he added.