Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim today said that he had no intention of making the proposed "Ekstremisme Agama di Malaysia: Satu Diskusi" (Religious Extremism In Malaysia: A Discussion) as an arena for debate. He said the invitation extended to Perlis mufti Datuk Dr Mohd Asri Zainul Abidin and Ahli Sunnah Waljamaah Organisation (Aswaja) president Zamihan Mat Zin to become panel members was to discuss issues on religion in an academic manner. "I want to explain here that I have never issued a statement wanting to hold a debate between them, except to hold a closed academic discussion," he told reporters in Kangar today. He was responding to a statement by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir, who said it was unnecessary to hold the discussion. Shahidan was met after giving away mandarin oranges to the Chinese in the Indera Kayang state constituency in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebrations at Dewan Bukit Kaya, Taman Bukit Kaya. The programme was not organised to see who won or lost, but to resolve problems of the ummah and had been approved by the people at the top, he added. "No one wants to come forward to solve the problems and I feel it my responsibility to do something so that the problems could be resolved through discussion, not to blame one another," he added. The discussion is scheduled to be held on at 9 pm this Wednesday at the Civil Defence Department Hall in Kuala Lumpur. – Bernama, February 13, 2016.]]>
No comments:
Post a Comment