In a speech last Friday, the former Umno minister said the most important reason would be to avoid the country continuing to be under the “fascist” rule of Prime Minister Najib Razak and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang.
“The two strongest promoters of this fascist-like ideology are Najib and Hadi. The prime minister’s relationship with Hadi is not just based on political expediency as some people think.
“It is borne out of their mutual fascination with fascist ideas. They have a plan to have Umno Malays and Hadi Islamists join forces to control the country,” Zaid said in a speech entitled “GE:14 Don’t play with fire”, which he delivered at the Ponderosa Golf and Country Resort, in Johor Bahru.
He said such rule will see enforcement authorities being directly controlled by the prime minister and laws being used selectively against the people, especially opposition party leaders and activists.
According to Zaid, the Umno-PAS relationship will also result in the “Talibanisation” of the country.
“If Najib wins GE14, Malaysia will transform into a dictatorship, with a Taliban-style legal system. Islam is not the problem, but Talibanisation is.
“In Malaysia, political Islam, under Najib’s rule, will never be moderate and peaceful, it will be a complete change from democracy that we once knew.”
Zaid, who is now a DAP member, referred to the numerous times that Hadi had said that only Muslims like him can rule this country, saying it was no different to how Najib had also said only Umno Malays can lead the nation.
“Muslims should be worried about this. They are not talking about defending the honour of the religion, but are using the religion to protect themselves.
“Again, this is unadulterated, fascist thinking. The only difference is that while Najib uses race, Hadi uses religion, and both have now joined forces and are using their respective platforms to divide this country and frighten its people,” Zaid said.
He added that BN’s non-Muslim component parties in Peninsular Malaysia, as well as Sabah and Sarawak, are deluding themselves thinking that a Najib-Hadi rule would not affect non-Muslims, giving the case of unilateral conversions involving minors as an example.
“Also, if this Taliban-style Islamic law didn’t apply to non-Muslims then why are Christian Dayaks not able to use the word ‘Allah’ in their prayers, something they have been doing for the last 200 years?
“Why are small traders not allowed to open their stalls in pasar malam during maghrib prayers, or for the Chinese traders to sell brushes without halal signs, or for non-Muslims to build their temples and churches at whatever height or size they wish?”