Patriot stands by the decision of the government on the appointment of Sheikh Omar to the Yadim board and regards all criticisms of Sheikh Omar as nothing more than ignorance and a shade of jealousy.
The criticism by some quarters over the appointment of Sheikh Omar Sheikh Ali, a DAP party member from Johor to the board of trustees of the Islamic Propagation Foundation of Malaysia (Yadim) borders on sheer ignorance and smack of racism.
For Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, an Umno leader, to make such criticism against the appointment of Sheikh Omar, the former himself being an Islamic scholar and a former member of Yadim, now casts himself as one whose political expediency overrides that of an Islamic scholar.
A similar criticism against Sheikh Omar was also made by Perkasa vice-president Hassan Basri Muhammad.
Patriot acknowledges the appointment of Sheikh Omar, who with his religious academic credentials is fully qualified to be an able team member of Yadim. He is not just another political appointee without any suitable academic credentials, which was the practice of the past administration.
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Asyraf Wajdi, due to his own selfish political belief, thinks that a Malay DAP party member is unfit to sit on the board of Yadim. Sheikh Omar, though being a member of a Chinese-dominant political party, holds a Bachelor’s degree in Islamic Studies (Usuluddin) majoring in Propagation (Dakwah) from the University of Malaya.
What other academic qualification does Asyraf Wajdi want of Sheikh Omar to qualify the latter to sit on the Yadim board? Does Asyraf Wajdi think that Sheikh Omar being a member of the DAP is a lesser Malay and even a much lesser Muslim?
Patriot stands by the decision of the government on the appointment of Sheikh Omar to the Yadim board and regards all criticisms of Sheikh Omar as nothing more than ignorance and a shade of jealousy.
Retired Brigadier General Mohamd Arshad Raji is president of Patriot.
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