Aziz Bari turns up in Johor, claims BN failed to resolve basic issues

By Mohd Farhan Darwis

November 26, 2011

JOHOR BARU, Nov 26 — The Barisan Nasional (BN) government has failed to address fundamental issues that should have been resolved long ago, Prof Dr Abdul Aziz Bari said last night.

The International Islamic University law lecturer said this was because Putrajaya had created restrictions that were not in line with the people’s needs.

Aziz (right) seen at the PKR Youth congress in Johor Baru on November 25, 2011. — Picture by Choo Choy May

“Discussion on issues like the national language, Malay and Bumiputera rights and fair allocation to states should have been settled about 20 to 30 years ago, but the government has failed to do so,” said Aziz, who was seen at the PKR Youth congress here yesterday.

This is the second time this month the constitutional law expert has attended a PKR event in Johor.

Aziz, who has been mired in controversy for over a month after commenting on the Selangor Sultan’s intervention in a church raid, urged Malaysians to vote in a new government to ensure such issues were tackled quickly.

“We need a government that’s committed to resolving these issues. It will be hard for us to create laws if we don’t control Parliament and if there’s no change in the leadership in Putrajaya,” he said.

He praised Pakatan Rakyat (PR) for letting the people discuss critical issues more openly and freely.

“I see a new boldness after 54 years of independence. Now we can discuss these issues openly. It’s clear that through Pakatan Rakyat’s struggle, we have gained more freedom to discuss such issues,” he said.

Earlier this month, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin advised Aziz to resign as an academic if he wished to be involved in politics and not wait for the university to take action.

Aziz is being investigated by UIA for commenting on the Selangor Sultan’s remarks concerning the raid by Islamic religious authorities on the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) in August.

Khaled, who is also Pasir Gudang MP, said he was aware that Aziz had entered his constituency to deliver speeches but remained confident voters here would not be taken in by his words.

The Selangor Sultan earlier this week expressed his disappointment with Aziz’s claim that the Selangor Islamic Religious Council and Selangor Zakat Board had not been audited.