Elok lah sekiranya Jeff Ooi dah tarik balik kenyataan beliau

Selaku mantan Ketua Wanita JIM Pusat, saya kira kenyataan Jeff Ooi merupakan kenyataan yang menyeleweng dan telah menghina keseluruhan   pertubuhan dakwah serta pertubuhan Islam yang telah membawa banyak usaha perubahan dan pembaikan dalam masyarakat. Seharusnya beliau dan pemimpin lain lebih berhati-hati dimasa hadapan, supaya jangan melebel sewenang-wenang.  Juga tidak seharusnya menjadikan perselisihan peribadi sebagai asas untuk menuduh seluruh organisasi yang diwakili seseorang individu. Jeff Ooi withdraws remark on JIM

Friday, 07 August 2009 07:05am

©The Sun (Used by permission) by Himanshu Bhatt & Bernard Cheah GEORGE TOWN (Aug 6, 2009): The chief minister’s chief of staff Jeff Ooi has withdrawn his remark labelling Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) as an extremist Islamic organisation. In a statement faxed from Hongkong today, Ooi said: “I am withdrawing my statement calling JIM an ‘extremist organisation’ that was published by The Star on Sunday. I was advised by Lim, and I fully comply with the directive. “However, to clarify, it is imperative to establish the relevant context.” Earlier, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, in advising Ooi to withdraw his remark, said, “I know JIM. It is not an extremist organisation.” “If it was, (state executive councillor) Chow Kon Yeow would not have appointed its representative to the MPPP as a councillor,” he told reporters in his Komtar office here. Lim declined to comment whether the JIM member Mohd Razali Abdullah, whom Ooi, who is also Jelutong MP, had criticised last Saturday was fit to be in the council, saying that was a separate issue. “I would think it would be appropriate for Jeff Ooi, if he had made the remark that JIM is an extremist organisation, to withdraw it,” he said. Meanwhile, Penang PKR Youth called on Ooi to apologise to JIM and the Muslim community for unduly portraying Islam as extremist. Its secretary Khairil Anuar Kamarudin said today the group gave Ooi 24 hours to apologise before they considered a course of action. “We call on Ooi to apologise for his talkativeness, rudeness, and attitude,” he said in a memorandum delivered to Lim’s office today. “We believe Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has principles on religious tolerance and should look seriously at the approach used by Ooi which does not contribute to strengthening the coalition. Instead, it provokes the anger of the Muslim community,” he told reporters. Khairil and several PKR Youth members including Bayan Baru MP Annuar Ismail met Lim’s polictial Ng Wei Aik on the second floor of Komtar before heading up to the CM’soffice. He stressed that the memorandum was not intended for DAP but to Ooi to apologise. Khairil said the issue was raised at the state PR meeting on Monday but there was no feedback from Ooi. “We support Mohd Razali Abdullah as Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) councillor as he was appointed by our party,” he said. On Sunday, an English daily reported Ooi saying that the council should not allow a “religious extremist” (Razali) in its administration. Before the group was allowed to head up to the Chief Minister’s office, the Chief Minister’s political secretary Ng Wei Aik met Khairil on the third floor of Komtar and accepted the memorandum on behalf of Ooi who is currently overseas. “I’ll hand this over to him once he returns,” he said. Penang state executive councillor Abdul Malik Kassim has called on Ooi to retract his statement as it was sensitive. He said the statement should not be made, especially by an elected representative of PR as it had touched on the sensitivity of Islam and hurt the feelings of Muslims in the country. Meanwhile, Penang DAP Socialist Youth (DAPSY) said it was unfair of Ooi to drag Jemaah Islah Malaysia (JIM) into his argument with Razali. In a press statement, DAP Youth secretary Ng said JIM was a registered organisation and had cooperated with the party to fight on several issues. “We believe JIM is not an extremist movement but a Muslim movement which focus on da’wah activities and social development,” he said. “We view Ooi’s statement seriously because it had angered the Muslim community,” he added.

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