Penang mufti to Kedah MB: Be careful when issuing statements

November 16, 2021

Penang mufti to Kedah MB: Be careful when issuing statements

GEORGE TOWN: Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor’s statement, asking Kedahan who wants to buy 4D numbers to go to Penang to do so, is upsetting and inappropriate as it is deemed as an insult to the state’s (Penang) Islamic religious institution.

Penang mufti Datuk Seri Dr Wan Salim Wan Mohd Noor said this was because the state’s Islamic religious institution had always been committed to uphold the position of Islam in the state.

“As a ‘brother’, I would like to advise the Kedah Menteri Besar to be more careful in issuing statements.

“He needs to maintain the image of the position he holds as a leader of a respected state government, not as a leader at the village level, where his influence is quite limited,” he said today.

Yesterday, Sanusi had said that his administration would ban all 4D lottery shops from continuing to operate by not renewing their business licenses.

He had said that the decision was made at the state exco meeting last week to avoid greater harm to the people of Kedah.

He had also said that whoever who wanted to buy 4D numbers could go to Penang to do so.

Wan Salim said it would be better if the Kedah Menteri Besar did not issue statements that could create controversies with other state leaders, especially neighbouring states, but instead try to establish friendly relations with all parties.

Meanwhile, Wan Salim said all parties were aware that the Yang di-Pertuan Agong was the head of the Islamic religious affairs for states without a Raja or Sultan.

He added that Penang was included, where all matters regarding Islam were directly under the auspices of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

“Although the current ruling party in Penang is Pakatan Harapan (PH), which is a coalition of DAP, PKR and Amanah, but the position of Islam as the federal religion is still preserved and given due attention by the state government.

“For example, the budget allocated to the Penang Islamic Religious Council to implement various Islamic-based programmes reached almost RM70 million since 2008,” he said.