KUALA LUMPUR: Former foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah (PN-Indera Mahkota) today urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim not to appoint an Egyptian scholar to the government's new Islamic scholarship advisory council.
Saifuddin told the Dewan Rakyat that the cleric supported an army general who overthrew a democratically elected president in a Middle Eastern country, and justified the killing of thousands of the ousted leader’s supporters.
He did not name the scholar but was believed to be referring to Egypt’s former grand mufti Sheikh Ali Gomaa, whom Anwar had said would be involved in the "Malaysian pondok and turath advisory council".
"Do not appoint that wicked and cruel scholar. It would send the wrong message if we are serious about improving Islamic education for our children," Saifuddin said in debating the 2027 budget.
Saifuddin was referring to the 2013 coup in Egypt, when then defence minister Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ousted president Mohamed Morsi. Security forces killed at least 817 protesters during a crackdown in Cairo’s Rabaa Square, according to Human Rights Watch.
Gomaa publicly supported the military and defended the use of deadly force against armed opponents. However, he denied issuing a religious ruling permitting the killing of peaceful protesters, saying his remarks concerned those who attacked security forces with weapons.
Anwar announced the advisory council in his budget speech last Friday, saying it was aimed at preserving traditional Islamic scholarship, or turath.
He named Gomaa and Morocco's Sheikh Idris al-Fasi as international scholars involved in the initiative, but did not specify their roles.
Saifuddin said Malaysia could appoint other Islamic scholars to the council instead. "There are many other scholars in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Middle East whom we can turn to for sound advice."