Too much religion for a diverse society too, is bad

In a statement today, ulama wing head Ahmad Yahya (above) urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to emulate the PAS-led Kedah government’s decision to close all number-betting outlets in the state.

“The PAS ulama wing urges Putrajaya to show the same political will. They should not just be proud of reducing the number of draws while gambling premises are still allowed to operate.

“There must be policies to educate the public based on religious teachings. There is no evidence that gambling is good for society. It is an illusion,” he said.

Yesterday, all number-betting shops in Kedah were forced to close as their business licences - which are controlled by the local authorities - were not renewed. One of Anwar’s earliest policy decisions was to cut down the number of “special draws” from 22 to just eight.

ScarletMacaw4136 : Can you also ban smoking for Muslim. Isn’t that addictive? Isn’t that sinful too?

myop101 : Putrajaya should strongly consider banning religious parties like PAS. There is no evidence that parties like PAS is good for the multicultural and multi religious society like ours. All their trumpeted goodness is an illusion as can be seen how divisive they are.

IndigoKiwi9570 : Where were you when PN increased from 11 to 22??? Hypocrite! Just zip up & disappear.

Putar putar : PAS’ ulama wing - educate people to stop baby dumping. This is more helpful act of good

YellowPuffin4247 : Pas is no good for society.Ban them completely.

Kedah Resident : Why is PAS infringing on the rights of non-Muslims? Gambling, drink-driving, sale of alcohol, sale of pork in wet markets, open display of roasted pork in public areas, women wearing short skirts, men wearing short pants not covering their knees, closing down cinemas (next state will be Kedah) etc. These PAS fellows should be sent to Dubai and the Emirates to see how non- Muslims are treated in a Muslim majority country.

Léon Moch : What a silly comment that twists the situation. Putrajaya is not saying that it is proud to have gambling. It is saying that it managed to reduce 4D draws compared to the previous PN, which included his party PAS, that had INCREASED 4D draws. But loads of people will be swayed by his comment without any sense of irony.