Moderation begins at home

WE refer to the report “Ex-PAS deputy chief set to be axed from GMMF leadership” ( Sunday Star, July 1) regarding the position of Datuk Dr Nasharudin Mat Isa, the executive chairman and CEO of the Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMMF).

We are of the opinion that he should never have been appointed as executive chairman and CEO of the GMMF as it is supposed to be the foundation leading Malaysia’s pursuit of moderation at the international level, including the United Nations, and providing the leadership to garner support and work towards the creation of a global movement of moderates.

The position requires someone who is a true and compassionate moderate and who is good at engaging both State and Non-State actors. His predecessors Tan Sri Razali Ismail and Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah fit well into the role.

The head of the GMMF should be the paragon of moderation both by example and reputation, and should speak out loudly against incongruous policies and actions taken by the government.

But it is well known that Nasharudin tended to lean on the support of conservative groups, including Jakim and other religious authorities, that practised exclusivity and intolerance, which clearly contradicts the official policy of moderation.

There were numerous cases of intolerance which occurred under the previous government, one of the most obvious being the arrest and detention of Mustafa Akyol, a well-known Islamic scholar who is recognised as one of the leading voices of moderate and democratic Islam in the West. His arrest by the police was recommended by the religious authorities in the Federal Territories.

That incident gave the impression that the Malaysian police serve these authorities. After this shameful episode, foreign missions in Kuala Lumpur made it a point to keep a watchful eye whenever their citizens were invited to give talks involving Islam in Malaysia.

Local academics were also concerned over whether they too would need to get tawliah from the religious affairs departments when participating in public forums on Islam.

Such restrictions on Islamic academic freedom have made a mockery of Malaysia’s claim as a leader of the global moderates’ movement.

Amidst all these ugly repressions, the GMMF proved itself to be totally ineffective in living up to its name. It is best, therefore, that this institution be abolished to prevent wastage of public funds.

Another example of this intolerance was the banning of the G25 book Breaking The Silence, which is about promoting moderation in Islam and the harmonisation of Islamic laws in the Federal Constitution.

Foreign policy begins at home, and if moderation were to be pursued as a major foreign initiative, moderation and tolerance must first be practised at home in Malaysia, a multi-ethnic and multireligious nation.

The new Pakatan Harapan government has promised to be more democratic, protect freedom and human rights, and champion the real Islamic virtues of peace, justice and compassion.

Nasharudin should also realise that he is out of tune with the aspirations and policies of the new Malaysia government and it is best that he step down of his own accord instead of being asked to leave.

If the Pakatan government wants to continue to pursue moderation at the international level, the GMMF must be disbanded.

The pursuit of moderation at the international level can be taken over by the Foreign Affairs Ministry with assistance provided by civil society organisations, academics and other relevant parties.