Takaful Malaysia apologises for official’s stance on Hindu holiday
Takaful Malaysia apologises for official’s stance on Hindu holiday
The Star, Tuesday October 17, 2006
KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian government-linked Islamic finance group has officially apologized after its religious chief advised Muslim staff not to give holiday greetings to Hindu colleagues for an upcoming celebration he described as blasphemous.
The apology was posted on publicly traded Takaful Malaysia’s Web site Tuesday.
The company, which is majority-owned by Malaysia’s Bank Islam, has already distanced itself from an e-mail memo sent by its religious department chief, Mohamed Fauzi Mustaffa, that advised Muslim employees against wishing Hindus "Happy Diwali.'’
Mohamed Fauzi’s e-mail described Hindu festivals as against Islamic tenets as they involve the worship of deities.
Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, will be celebrated Oct. 21.
Muslim-majority Malaysia’s 26 million population is 60 percent Malay, 25 percent Chinese and 10 percent Indian, who are mainly Hindu.
"We would like to apologise for any confusion and ill-feelings that may have arose from the e-mail,'’ the company said on its the Web site.
Malaysia takes pride in its racial harmony and discourages religious disputes.
Government officials were quick to denounce the e-mail, saying it was a narrow interpretation of Islam.
Mustaffa has not made any public comment on his e-mailed memo.
Also Tuesday, the New Straits Times newspaper reported that two police reports have been lodged by non-governmental organizations over Mohamed Fauzi’s e-mail, saying it was inciteful and hurtful to non-Muslims.
The report could not be independently verified, and police were not available for comment.
Takaful’s statement came as about 100 demonstrators from an ethnic Indian youth group and other non-governmental organisations demonstrated outside Takaful’s headquarters in downtown Kuala Lumpur Tuesday, calling the apology inadequate.
"The apology we want is for this man (Mohamed Fauzi) to be reeducated and retrained … so that the same kind of hate mail does not reappear,'’ said Charles Santiago, a protest leader with the Group of Concerned Citizens. - AP
The full text from the website
OFFICIAL STATEMENT ON EMAIL REGARDING DEEPAVALI GREETINGS
Takaful Malaysia would like to stress that the contents and views of the email regarding the Deepavali Greetings do not in any way represent the views of Takaful Malaysia.
As per Takaful Malaysia’s previous statement on the issue, we would like to apologise for any confusion and ill-feelings that may have arose from the email. Takaful Malaysia wishes that this issue has been clarified and solved following the views attributed to Sahibul Samahah Perak State Mufti and Selangor Darul Ehsan State Mufti as reported by The New Straits Times on 15th October 2006 (It’s no sin to say Happy Deepavali).
Last but not least, Takaful Malaysia would also like to take this opportunity to wish all Malaysians of Hindu faith a very Happy Deepavali.
Thank you
