LETTER | Moral policing and piety politics will ruin Malaysia

LETTER | The PAS-led Kedah state government is going ballistic with its piety politics.

Such moral policing using one religion's edicts to blanket a multi-religious population is foolish, to say the least.

Religious values need inculcation through education and family upbringing as well as exemplary and uncorrupted leadership.

Banning gaming and alcohol businesses will not get the nation anywhere except sink us all into a make-believe, stagnated and impoverished nation.

Nations that had tried such piety politics have bankrupted the potential of their people and sunk their countries into abject poverty.

Let us face facts. Even prostitution thrives in places that control their masses using religious mantras and enacted laws.

Reject outdated leaders

Theocratic politics had died ages ago with the ending of the cruel crusaders.

Therefore, I hope all citizens will come together with a powerful voice to reject such piety politics and moral policing.

Malaysia cannot regress into a “dark age” mode. We need to move on with reforms that make us a progressive and prosperous nation.

We cannot kill the economy by promoting blanket and restrictive religious laws that cannot make us any richer in values and convictions.

Hopefully, those in power and especially the custodians of religions will step forward and stop the uncontrolled advances of moral policing and piety politics in the country and not react only when such regressive actions have rooted into extremism.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.