By Tay Tian Yan
The death of PAS spiritual leader Haron Din has sparked some controversy for days now. The tweet by DAP’s Jeff Ooi and some of the negative comments that followed, have seen even the police stepping in to probe for religious insensitivity while triggering very polarised reactions from the general public.
I’m not here to discuss whether Ooi’s tweet has been ironical, belittling or disrespectful, and he has himself explained he had no evil intention when posting the tweet.
The language a person uses is actually something abstract and very subjective. “Adios Haron Din, let there be peace” could be both a positive and negative message, depending on which side you are on and which way you look at it.
Since the police have stepped in to probe, I guess we can only wait for the outcome.
Going further, the incident is not just a matter that involves Jeff Ooi and a handful of web users. It reflects the vast disparity how different sectors of Malaysian society look at seemingly innocent and non-suggestive things, as well as one’s outlook on life.
Non-Muslims concerned about Malaysian politics might have some sparse impression of Haron Din. He is PAS’ spiritual leader, a very powerful man indeed, second probably only to the late Nik Aziz and incumbent party president Hadi Awang. Where religious influences are concerned, he is in no way inferior to the other two.
We can safely say that Haron Din was one of the most dominant figures in shaping the party’s religious and ideological roadmap.
And he was extremely devout in his religious belief with his conservative and fundamentalist stand. For such a personality, Haron Din was never as ambiguous and wavering as some other politicians we know today.
Where this is concerned, Nik Aziz was actually a whole lot more versatile than him.
Due to his unbending commitment to religion, Haron Din won the utmost respect of many Muslims in the country. That said, he simply lacked the necessary versatility that gave the non-Muslim community a general impression of him being hardline conservative or even extreme.
The collapse of Pakatan Rakyat has been largely blamed – in particular by DAP supporters – on the conservatives within PAS, resulting in the widening rift between the two parties while crushing the prospect of a change in the Federal administration.
Perhaps this is also how many non-Muslims perceive Haron Din and subsequently the very polarised reactions to his death.
The same thing also happened soon after the death of DAP’s Karpal Singh who famously said, “Islamic state over my dead body,” a quote which won him thumbs-up from supporters of a secular Malaysia, and at the same time infuriating the Muslims who saw him as being anti-Islam.
Similarly, there were tweets and FB posts that celebrated his death. But please, don’t get me wrong. I’m not trying to say that since Karpal could be vilified, Haron Din should not be spared from the same disparaging treatment too.
Just the opposite. I firmly believe that any form of attack or belittling should not have happened to both Karpal Singh and Haron Din.
A humble expression of respect for the deceased constitutes a universal understanding in our civilized world. While differing political and religious views are inevitable, any form of disrespect for the deceased should never be manifested at such an untimely moment.
Venting your frustration on the deceased in an attempt to gain some additional political support is never the noblest thing to do. It will only trigger deeper confrontation among the people and cause further splits in our vulnerable society.
Even if I don’t buy Haron Din’s political ideas, for the simple reason of humanity and esteem, I will still pay my respects.
Tay Tian Yan writes for Sin Chew Daily.
Sin Chew Daily is a local vernacular publication
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