Former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has been so focused on freeing Anwar that it has sidelined many other human rights issues in Malaysia like discrimination against women.
KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — A former minister today questioned if the Opposition was really fighting for a better Malaysia or merely fighting to free jailed Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Former law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said that Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has been so focused on freeing Anwar that it has sidelined many other human rights issues in Malaysia like discrimination against women.
“The issue of there being no justice for Anwar has been going on for 16 years now, and will probably keep going on if the Pakatan Rakyat has its way. It’s as if the country has no other injustices they can fight for,” he said.
“Every day, Muslim women suffer the indignity of being arrested and fined for their dressing and for the company they keep, and still the Pakatan keeps quiet,” he said, possibly referring to the Terengganu Syariah Criminal Offences (Takzir) which punishes the exposing of “any part” of a woman’s body that “arouses passion.”
Terengganu also recently banned Muslim couples who are unmarried and unrelated by blood from being together on a same motorcycle.
Zaid added that the increased “Talibanisation” of the country is propelled by ruling party Barisan Nasional’s expanding the jurisdiction of Islamic law, but PR has done nothing about it.
“The Barisan Nasional are getting ready to remove federal restrictions on the limits of the Shariah Court, which means the court will soon be able to punish offenders, not unlike those in ISIS. But the Pakatan do not seem too worried about this either,” he said, referring to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria by its acronym ISIS.
He adds that PR also has not championed the rights of non-Bumiputeras to receive financial aid for their education.
“What about poor Chinese and Indian boys and girls who have been denied the financial support they need to continue their education, which they might have received if they were Bumiputera? Will Pakatan leaders propose a law that criminalises such discrimination in the country?” he questioned.
“I doubt it, because they do not want to lose the Malay vote,” he added.
The Opposition must focus on issues beyond that of the imprisoned Anwar, the former minister said, and champion fair policies that benefit all Malaysians.
“There are, I’m afraid, worse injustices in our country than that of Anwar Ibrahim. The Opposition must show us all that there is more to their struggle.
“They must protect our rights and ingrain fairness in all public policies, because this country is for everyone, even if they are not Malays,” he said.