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“This is an abuse and cruelty towards innocent parties,” Baharom said. |
KUALA LUMPUR — A loyalty oath taken by lawmakers of Malaysia’s Islamic party (PAS) to divorce their wives if they quit the party is provoking outcry in the Muslim country.
“This is an abuse and cruelty towards innocent parties,” said Jamil Khir Baharom, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, reported the Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) on Saturday, November 7.
“Islam abhors cruelty and abuse.”
Proving loyalty to their party, PAS lawmakers are used to vowing to divorce their wives if they quit or jump the party.
“Divorce is not a trivial matter that can be put at stake just to prove one’s loyalty to a political party,” Baharom said.
Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar, assistant secretary of the Malaysian Muslim Lawyers’ Association, described the oath as “morally wrong.”
The ruling alliance Barisan Nasional (BN) also condemned the move.
“I cannot fathom how they could resort to something so degrading and mean,” Women, Family and Community Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil said.
“What happens when their wives are apolitical? It’s just so sad.”
PAS enjoys strong support from the northern rural and conservative states such as Kelantan and Terengganu.
It is the first opposition party in independent Malaysia's history to defeat the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in a Malay dominated state.
The party has recently adopted a new agenda that gave it a new look, which helped it greatly in the March polls.
As part of its major facelift, the party fielded a non-Muslim candidate for the first time on its slate in the elections.
Malaysia has a population of nearly 26 millions, with Malays, mostly Muslims, making up nearly 60 percent.
Sacred
The “divorce” loyalty oath also drew fire as a violation of the wives’ rights.
“In Islam, even though divorce is halal, it is makruh (disliked or undesirable) because God detests the action,” Perak state’s mufti Harussani Zakaria told the Star.
“Marriage solemnization is not something playful.”
Zakaria said the “divorce” oath turns the sacred marriage into a political game.
“(PAS MPs turned) their marriage into a game and put their wives as a bet in politics.”
Marriage in Islam is a sacred bond that brings together a man and a woman by virtue of the teachings of the Qur'an and the Sunnah.
Each partner in this sacred relationship must treat the other properly and with respect.
Divorce is not at all viewed favorably in Islam and is discouraged unless warranted by valid reasons.
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