I have been asked what is the meaning of this term “klepto-theocracy” which I been using for the past week.
In a nutshell, klepto-theocracy is a political doctrine in Malaysia which misuses Islam to support thievery, corruption, intolerance, bigotry, lies and falsehoods.
A most recent example of this new political hypocrisy is about the declaration of assets, with the PAS, UMNO, MCA and MIC MPs in both Houses of Parliament opposing the motion requiring MPs to publicly declare their assets.
The PAS President said declaring assets is a communist, socialist concept that may have been dreamt up by DAP while the PAS Deputy President said it was unIslamic to declare assets, until it was pointed out that the latter had in 2015 dared the then Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to declare his assets!
The misuse of Islam to support kleptocracy was best illustrated over the ICERD issue.
The PAS President had never answered my question as to what he really meant when he said that all Muslims must oppose the ratification of the International Covenant on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) when the Covenant had been ratified by countries representing 99% of the 1.9 billion Muslims in the world, including countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, UAB, Algeria, Pakistan, Turkey, Tunisia, Morocco, Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Out of the 57 countries of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) States, 55 have ratified ICERD, except for Malaysia and Brunei.
Was there a suggestion that somehow the 99% the world’s 1.9 billion Muslims, who live in 55 of the 57 OIC countries, have been misled and are not true Muslims?
If ratification of ICERD means condemnation of the Muslims to a life of injustice and oppression, why had 48 of 50 countries where Muslims make up a majority of the population ratified ICERD?
The PAS President is the Vice President of the International Union of Muslim Scholars. Had he ever called on 55 of the 57 OIC countries to repudiate their ratification of ICERD, which condemned Muslims in these countries to a life of injustices and oppression, and if not, why not?
But the most reprehensible instance of the misuse of Islam for the cause of klepto-theocracy is the support given to Najib for his 1MDB kleptocracy and his “Malu Apa BOSS-ku” campaign.
This is why the poem, “An Evil Stalking the Land”, I had said:
“But klepto-theocracy has come as a new evil stalking the land
“Block the reset of nation-building policies
“Sow distrust and hatred among Malaysians
“Pit race against race, religion against religion.”
It is noteworthy that Muslim preacher Wan Ji Wan Hussin believed that it was his criticisms against a political party for misusing Islam for political ends that led to a standoff at a mosque in Malacca where he was preaching.
He said he had criticised the leadership of this political party abusing Islam for political ends and they were unable to answer his criticisms.
(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah on Wednesday, 24th July 2019)
