Outspoken Muslim scholar Dr Mohd Asri Zainal Abidin is at it again. Dr MAZA, as he’s popularly known, has long been speaking truth to power, especially about Malaysian politics, and his latest online snipe is no different.
In a status update posted to his official Fscebook account, the newly-reappointed Mufti of Perlis delivered a thinly-veiled diss to Deputy Finance Minister Ahmad Maslan regarding Maslan’s reported remark that former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad “did not understand” the new Goods and Services Tax (GST), hence why Mahathir was against it.
“If Tun M supposedly doesn’t understand the GST, are other Malaysians – most of whom don’t have as much experience with national economics as Tun M – understand the GST better?!” the scholar practically bellowed through his keyboard.
“If someone who is regarded by a majority of Malaysians to be “less intelligent” (to avoid using the word “idiot”) due to his statements on the GST, says Tun M, who is well regarded as an intellectual, doesn’t get the GST, is this person more intelligent than Tun M?!”
Dr MAZA’s jibes, despite not mentioning Maslan by name, have got to hurt, especially since the Deputy Finance Minister has indeed been the butt of many jokes and takedowns online, following his many remarks about the unpopular new tax.
On Saturday, Astro Awani reported Maslan having said Mahathir did not understand the GST, and that the former premier’s lack of understanding led to his call for the new tax to be abolished.
“I think the people around him did not give him the proper explanation about GST. The GST percentage is much lower than SST (sales and services tax). So, how can he say it’s better for the government to cancel GST?” Maslan said, as quoted by The Malaysian Insider.
The biggest knock on Maslan’s defense strategy for the GST came earlier, when he advised undergrads residing on Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campuses to “cook their own meals to save up on GST costs”.
UiTM does not allow residential students to cook in their campus accommodations.
Summing up his latest tirade, Dr MAZA said that according to Islamic jurisprudence, those who are safih (stupid or intellectually challenged) are not fit to manage their own finances, let alone the finances of an entire country.
He signed off questioning whether such idiots should be appointed Federal Ministers.
Malaysian netizens seem to be on the same page with the influential preacher – so far, his Facebook post has received more than 46,000 Likes, and has been shared almost 7,000 times.
Ouch.
Know about something happening in KL and Malaysia? Want to share? Send us an email:kl@coconuts.co – don’t just read the news, make it!
