Penang PAS chief Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff said Hadi was “spot on” with his comments, saying the DAP-led government had failed to protect the rights of Malays and Muslims in the state.
Citing a few examples, Fauzi said many traditional Malay kampungs in existence since the 1700s were not protected, as promised in the Pakatan Rakyat manifesto.
“We have asked for these 25 kampungs to be demarcated and gazetted as heritage villages. These villages pre-date the arrival of Francis Light.
“But the Penang government appears to be more concerned about colonial buildings in George Town,” he said at a press conference at Markas Tarbiah PAS in Pongsu Seribu, Kepala Batas, today.
Fauzi said the local governments in Penang were also racially and politically biased by taking action on Malay and “cenderung Umno” (Umno-supportive) hawkers.
He said rural Malay-owned hawker stalls, including several owned by the disabled, were torn down for violating municipal bylaws.
“But hawker stalls in New Lane, Chulia Street, Sungai Ara city council food court and others are left untouched, despite clear violations of municipal by-laws.
“A former PAS municipal councillor had voiced out on these. The excuse given was the stalls taken down were from ‘kumpulan yang cenderung kepada Umno’ (leaning towards Umno).
“In fact, the councillor was accused of being racist and ‘pro-Umno’ just because he defended the Malay hawkers,” Fauzi said.
Fauzi said other matters such as the flourishing of liberal Islam, violation of state fatwa rules and the clear objections against the shariah act amendments in Parliament showed the DAP-led Penang government did not care.
“Even the three reclaimed islands Penang is planning to create south of Penang Island negatively affect thousands of Malay Muslims who live in the area.
“The project will affect the Malays there as they are mostly fishermen who make a living since it is a ‘lubuk udang’ (haven for prawns).
“Compensation offered to these fishermen was also not fair, akin to ‘kenyang sekali, melarat bertahun-tahun,” he said.
Recently, Penang Executive Councillor Abdul Malik Kassim denied Hadi’s claims that it had turned a blind eye to Muslims in the state.
Malik said Penang had the highest budget allocation for Islam in history and Hadi’s claims were blatantly false.
P Pinang jawab Hadi: Peruntukan agama terbesar dalam sejarah negeri