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The nation’s FREE newspaper
PM: Do
not twist
fatwa
on yoga
KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk
Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday
urged all quarters to understand the
content of the fatwa on yoga issued
by the National Fatwa Council and not
twist facts which could confuse the
public.
He said Muslims who performed
yoga exercise and do not chant any
mantra could carry on with their activity
as it was good for their health.
“I wish to state that a physical
regime with no elements of worship can
continue, meaning, it is not banned. I
believe that Muslims are not easily
swayed into polytheism,” he said when
contacted by Bernama.
Abdullah was asked to comment
on the yoga fatwa issue following the
opposing views expressed by various
quarters and the confusion that arose
after the National Fatwa Council ruled
that yoga was “haram” (forbidden in
Islam) for Muslims as it involved chant-
ing of mantra and acts of worship which
are against Islamic teachings.
At the same time, the prime minister
said, non-Muslims should not feel hurt
or slighted by the announcement of the
fatwa as it applied to only Muslims.
“What I understand from the decision
of the National Fatwa Council is that it
was aimed at explaining to Muslims the
implications of yoga practice.”
He said he was also aware that the
fatwa could be implemented only after
getting the consent of the Conference
of Malay Rulers.
Yesterday, Negri Sembilan Regent
Tunku Naquiyuddin Tuanku Jaafar also
gave his views on the edicts on yoga
and tomboyism.
He agreed with Sultan of Selangor
Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah and Perak
Raja Muda Raja Dr Nazrin Shah that the
National Fatwa Council should consult
the rulers before issuing edicts on yoga
and tomboy issues.
He said rulers were well educated,
well travelled and well informed and
it would be in the interest of Islam
Hadhari, the moderate form of Islam
that the government was propagating,
that the rulers were fully involved in
giving their opinion to avoid extremist
tendencies as seen in other Islamic
countries.
“Islam is a progressive religion and
the Ulama should be confident of the
followers’ faith rather than micro-
managing their way of life,” he said
when speaking on the role of monarchy
in the 21st century.
“If I pop into a church or a Bud-
dhist temple, is there any fear of me
converting? Take the Malay wedding
(for example), the adat bersanding
which is actually based on our Hindu
heritage, so is this going to be banned
in the future? Where do we draw the
line?”
» Rulers want their immunity restored pg2
ANGKOK: Anti-
B
government protesters
tightened their grip over
the international airport
yesterday, causing chaos
in the terminal, prompting the
military to urge the government
to step down and call fresh
elections.
But Prime Minister Somchai
Wongsawat, whose flight late
yesterday from Lima, Peru,
where he attended the Asia-
Pacific summit, was rerouted to
the northern city of Chiangmai,
rejected his army chief Anupong
Paochinda’s call, heightening
speculation of an imminent coup.
Speaking on national
television, Somchai said his
government was democratically
elected and would continue
to work for the “good of the
country”, despite claims by the
People’s Alliance for Democracy
(PAD) it is the puppet of ousted
leader Thaksin Shinawatra.
Major carriers, including
Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia,
have cancelled all flights to
Bangkok. Several countries have
also advised their citizens not to
travel to the Thai capital.
Earlier, Anupong urged
the government to call snap
elections and also told PAD
to withdraw from the airport
and cease its anti-government
campaign.
He denied he was staging a
coup, but with the airport and
main government offices now
in the control of protesters, and
lawlessness spreading, he said
Somchai should hold new polls.
“We will send him a letter
to inform that he must dissolve
the house and call new
elections,” the general told a
news conference after an urgent
meeting of military and business
leaders to address the deepening
crisis.
“This is not a coup,” he said.
“The government still has full
authority. These points are the
way to solve the problem which
has plunged the country into a
deep crisis.”
The leader of the protesters,
Sondhi Limthongul, has rejected
a government offer of talks to
end the airport blockade. “You
must quit first before we sit
down and talk with you,” he told
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Stranded ... Passengers sleep near
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Bangkok
blockade
PROTESTERS SIEGE AIRPORT BUT PM REJECTS
ARMY CHIEF’S CALLS FOR FRESH ELECTIONS
cheering supporters at the airport,
repeating the PAD’s demand that
Somchai resign.
After masked PAD members
broke into the control tower
at Bangkok’s US$4 billion
Suvarnabhumi airport, the latest
twist in their seizure of the site,
a rival pro-government group
planned its own street action,
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Thursday
November 27, 2008
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» Dream free, dream true pg16-17
raising the prospect of clashes.
“What they have done are terrorist
acts,” said Jatuporn Prompan, a
ruling party politician and leader of
the anti-PAD Democratic Alliance
Against Dictatorship.
A series of small bomb blasts
wounded several PAD protesters
in the airport vicinity yesterday,
demonstration leaders said, as
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chaos ruled inside the terminal,
with all flights cancelled.
In Chiangmai, a pro-
government gang shot dead an
anti-government activist after
dragging him from his car, the first
serious violence outside the capital,
police said.
Thailand’s finance minister
has said the protests could have a
damaging effect on the economy,
which depends on tourism as a key
sector and is already vulnerable to
global financial turmoil.
Thousands of passengers slept
overnight on benches and luggage
carousels at Suvarnabhumi, many
annoyed that airport staff fled when
the PAD demonstrators, dressed
in the movement’s yellow shirts,
invaded the terminal.
Thai Airways, the national
carrier, said 16 inbound flights
had been diverted to Bangkok’s
old airport Don Muang, 45km
from Suvarnabhumi, and another
three flights to a Vietnam War-era
airbase 150km southeast of here.
Most airlines halted service
to Bangkok, a regional hub with
125,000 passengers passing
through Suvarnabhumi daily.
– Reuters
» More reports on Pages 2 and 13