Oops! Hadhari is a business, they are not evangelical

PM says NO to snoop squad

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said NO to a move by the Terengganu state government to set up a “snoop squad” or “informers” who would be rewarded for snooping and reporting “immoral activities”.

Pak Lah said: “There is no need for that. There were many more beneficial activities for Muslims that state religious departments could carry out.



But the Islam Hadhari chairman said they want to prevent moral decay.

'We're in the business of stopping moral decay'

Terengganu Islam Hadhari and Welfare Committee chairman Datuk Rosol Wahid was interviewed by Rosli Zakaria of NST. This is what he got to say:

Abstracts from the interview:

"Preventing khalwat (close proximity) is important in Islam."

We are serious about checking moral decay and transforming the people into a progressive workforce. The reason why they are engaging the snoopers is because they lack manpower resources and they also have more serious matters to attend to than just focus on khalwat cases.

The presence of snooper informants will acts as a deterrent, said Rosol.

According to Rosol, they have informants who voluntarily provide information on immoral activities, including khalwat, to enforcement officers of the state Religious Affairs Department. They are not vigilantes or members of a special squad but they can be anyone who feels it is his responsibility to check immoral activities in their area.

"We are helping families and society. In the larger context, we are preventing such incidences from becoming a norm," Rosol said.

Q: How do you relate this to Islam Hadhari?

A: We want to create a civilised and progressive society as envisioned by Islam, and Islam Hadhari is a concept which guides us.

With the right knowledge, we can develop a righteous society where people learn what is right and wrong, and exercise restraint. Education is still the best form of prevention.

Q: Can your style of implementation solve the problems associated with moral decay in society?

A: We have to be realistic about this. We have more than a million people in the state and there are certainly some bad apples, or if you like, black sheep.

We hope that our future generation will have some form of insulation against corrupt practices, mismanagement and fraud. With sound knowledge of Islam, we hope the next generation will be more civilised, progressive and morally sound. It’s not going to be easy as there are detractors.

We just have to be confident that what we are doing today is for the good of all in the state. We are serious about realising the Islam Hadhari concept.

Is he really serious about moral decay? Then, he should have come up with some methods and enforcements, or a snoop squad to track corruptors and the problem of incests. I do understand that the committee cannot take the role of Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) but he should use the same formula of snoopers to track corruptors, particularly those politicians and ministers of the state and report it to ACA. This way, the moral value of the snoopers will be much welcome from the rakyat; of course, not the politicians.

For the rakyat to respect the Hadhari committee, they should first formulate methods of tracking the corrupt legislators and civil services. They should begin with the ministers and Exco members, and then track the MPs and State assemblymen; then the civil services and uniformed services. In Islam, corruption is a far greater sin than incest; and khalwat is the lesser of the moral decay.