Malays Spend RM4 Billion Annually On Alcohol, Gambling Says Perak Mufti!
This piece of news came as a bit of a shocker. That it was announced by the controversy-loving Mufti of Perak, Dato' Seri Harussaini Zakaria made it even more of an interesting read. He opined that the Malays in this country increasingly don't care for what is haram any more.
I don't know if the good Mufti has an economics background but he gave quite startling and revealing figures. Of the 4 billion ringgit allegedly splurged by the Malays, 1 billion ringgit he says is spent on alcohol and the remaining 3 billion ringgit on gambling. He added that 75% of those who indulge in 4-D lotteries are Malays.
At this point he clarified that he obtained these 'statistics' from a magazine which he had recently read. He however refused to disclose the name of the magazine. True to form, he blamed all that ails the Malays on among others, secularism, liberalism, pluralism, hedonism and 'soal' khilafiah.
He also lamented that being a concerned Mufti he had requested the Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) to forward to the Council Of Rulers for discussion, the challenges faced by the Muslims. However this was rejected by JAKIM.
Having no access to information pertaining to the subject it would be unwise for me to comment much. However if there is truth to what he says then I think that the various state religious departments have failed miserably in their duties. While it is true that 4D shops have their quota of Malays trying out their luck, 75% is indeed a very scary figure for a people who consider themselves as exemplary Muslims. That Malays gulped a billion ringgit worth of alcohol is even more frightening. I wonder if the health ministry has any statistics on the number of Malays with alcohol-related problems.
If however it is found that there is no basis to the allegations by the Mufti it would be incumbent on the authorities to mete out some sort of disciplinary action against him as well as the magazine that published it.
I don't know if the good Mufti has an economics background but he gave quite startling and revealing figures. Of the 4 billion ringgit allegedly splurged by the Malays, 1 billion ringgit he says is spent on alcohol and the remaining 3 billion ringgit on gambling. He added that 75% of those who indulge in 4-D lotteries are Malays.
At this point he clarified that he obtained these 'statistics' from a magazine which he had recently read. He however refused to disclose the name of the magazine. True to form, he blamed all that ails the Malays on among others, secularism, liberalism, pluralism, hedonism and 'soal' khilafiah.
He also lamented that being a concerned Mufti he had requested the Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia (JAKIM) to forward to the Council Of Rulers for discussion, the challenges faced by the Muslims. However this was rejected by JAKIM.
Having no access to information pertaining to the subject it would be unwise for me to comment much. However if there is truth to what he says then I think that the various state religious departments have failed miserably in their duties. While it is true that 4D shops have their quota of Malays trying out their luck, 75% is indeed a very scary figure for a people who consider themselves as exemplary Muslims. That Malays gulped a billion ringgit worth of alcohol is even more frightening. I wonder if the health ministry has any statistics on the number of Malays with alcohol-related problems.
If however it is found that there is no basis to the allegations by the Mufti it would be incumbent on the authorities to mete out some sort of disciplinary action against him as well as the magazine that published it.
posted by The Malaysian. at 7/08/2006 12:31:00 PM
1 Comments:
I think all he says is impossible. I dont even have one muslim friend or relation who gambles or drinks. How can this be???? He must be misled.
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