He said the political culture in Malaysia was fittingly dominated and controlled by the Malays so that they could lead the country.
“According to Islamic politics, the influential race will hold power in a country and because Malays are the majority in this country, they need to be the leaders,” he was quoted as saying.
Pointing to statistics that 65% of the country’s population consists of Muslims, he said: “Non-Muslims should not feel slighted because we need to follow according to the population breakdown for the sake of maintaining the national harmony.”
“They do not need to be worried because Islam forbids its leaders from having a cruel attitude against non-Muslims,” he added.
Hadi was reported to have said this during a political dialogue at a dinner event held at the Dewan Seri Iskandar in Setiawangsa on Saturday.
He also said it was time for Muslim parties to engage in a friendly political relationship. Muslims in Malaysia have for too long practised a political culture of hatred and enmity, he said.
The report also quoted Hadi as insisting that unlike what is claimed by certain quarters, the proposed shariah amendments in Parliament do not constitute hudud, the Islamic criminal punishment, nor does it enable qisas, which gives a murder victim’s nearest relative or guardian the right to take the killer’s life.
Hadi, through a private member’s bill tabled last year, sought to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act 1965 (Act 355), allowing for stiffer punishments for shariah offenders.
The increased sentences proposed include a maximum punishment of up to 30 years’ jail, 100 lashes of the cane and RM100,000 for fines.