Malaysia’s Coming Elections
Farish A. Noor reports the coming election(s) in Malaysia.
Badawi had no easy task to explain his vision of ‘Islam Hadari’ :
Another area where Badawi seems weak is his stand on Islam, which was encapsulated in his vision of a modern, progressive, ‘Islam Hadari’. While admittedly Badawi has expressed the keen desire to see Islam understood and practiced in a universal, inclusive and tolerant manner, the realities on the ground would suggest that the religious authorities in the country have not taken heed of any of the universal principles he has espoused all along: The seizure of Bibles by Malaysian customs officers, the activities of the morality police that spy on the private lives of Malaysians, the banning of books that are deemed ‘a threat’ to Islam and Muslims, etc. have all prompted Malaysians to ask: ‘What sort of modern, progressive Islam is this?’
Ioannis Gatsiounis from ATOL greets the PM: Hail, hail to Malaysia’s Pak Lah
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